By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military experienced its highest recorded level of sexual assault among women last year, in findings the Pentagon on Thursday described as tragic, disappointing and devastating.

The U.S. military, which is already struggling to meet recruiting goals after decades of war, revealed the gloomy data just months after announcing new reforms that critics said were too slow and too limited to resolve the crisis.

Reports of sexual assault increased by roughly 13% in 2021 compared with the previous year.

A staggering 8.4% of active-duty women are estimated to have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in fiscal-year 2021, while the figure for men roughly doubled to 1.5%, according to a survey in a Pentagon report published on Thursday.

While the report said the results could not be scientifically compared to previous years because of a government-directed change in metrics, one senior Pentagon official said it was the highest rate for women since 2006 and the second-highest level for men.

“These numbers are tragic, and extremely disappointing. On an individual level, it is devastating to conceptualize that these numbers mean that over 35,000 service members’ lives and careers were irrevocably changed by these crimes,” Elizabeth Foster, executive director of the Pentagon’s Office of Force Resiliency, told reporters.

“Every incident has a ripple effect across the unit and impacts unit cohesion, ability to trust and distracts from the critical mission at hand,” Foster added.

The Marine Corps had a 13.4% sexual assault prevalence rate among women in 2021, up from about 10.7%, according to the survey.

U.S. Representative Jackie Speier, who is also co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said the results were disturbing and she would hold a hearing in the coming weeks for more answers.

“The watchful eye of Congress is needed to ensure that military leadership is held to account and any additional changes deemed necessary to address this national embarrassment and crisis are made,” Speier said in a statement.

This year President Joe Biden signed an executive order to make sexual harassment an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

In December, lawmakers passed the National Defense Authorization Act which included an overhaul of the military justice system. It would take decisions on whether to prosecute cases of rape and sexual assault out of the hands of military commanders.

Still, some lawmakers and activists said it does not go far enough, particularly given the extent to which sexual assault victims tend to have a lack of faith in the military justice system.

Only 39% of women in the military said they trusted the system to treat them with dignity and respect after an incident, compared with 66% in 2018. Only 34% of them trusted the military to protect their privacy after reporting an incident, down from 63% in 2018.

Six out of 10 women did not express trust in the military to ensure their safety after an incident, the data showed.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Gloria Estefan felt “overjoyed” to learn that she’d inspired a new Barbie doll.

The 65-year-old singer has been a fan of the “American icon” since her childhood, and she’s thrilled that she’s inspired the new doll.

She explained: “Overjoyed is pretty much the word. I’ve gotten every award that you could possibly imagine. But somehow this was so incredibly special for me, maybe because I played with Barbie since I was a kid, a little girl, and she’s an American icon.”

Gloria celebrates her 65th birthday on Thursday (01.09.22), and she admits that the new doll is a huge honour.

She told PEOPLE: “To have them celebrate my image and my career and my culture on my birthday … it’s really special.

“They were really, really sticklers about making sure that I was very involved in choosing her image, the clothes. I actually sent them my thigh-high boots and my jacket so that they could see the detail. That jewellery, the microphone, we made sure the hair was right, that she represented me in the way that was important to me. And I’m just beyond thrilled.

“What can I tell you? I’m a Barbie.”

The new doll has been specifically inspired by Gloria’s outfit in her music video for ‘Get On Your Feet’.

And despite everything she’s achieved in her career, the singer continues to be amazed by her own success.

The seven-time Grammy Award winner said: “I’ve got a Christmas album that I did with my daughter and my grandson that is coming out in a month – and to have Barbies celebrating my life right at this moment is just … there’s a lot going on and it’s all great and I’m thrilled about it.”

Mountain View (United States) (AFP) – Fifteen years after its launch, a Google Maps feature that lets people explore faraway places as though standing right there is providing a glimpse of the metaverse being heralded as the future of the internet.

There was not yet talk of online life moving to virtual worlds when a “far-fetched” musing by Google co-founder Larry Page prompted Street View, which lets users of the company’s free navigation service see imagery of map locations from the perspective of being there.

Now the metaverse is a tech-world buzz, with companies including Facebook parent Meta investing in creating online realms where people represented by videogame-like characters work, play, shop and more.

“Larry Page took a video camera and stuck it out the window of his car,” Google senior technical program manager Steven Silverman said, while showing AFP the garage where the company builds cameras for cars, bikes, backpacks, and even snowmobiles dispatched to capture 360-degree images worldwide.

“He was talking to some of his colleagues at the time, saying, ‘I bet we can do something with this.’ That was the start of Street View.”

Street View lets people click on locations in Google Maps to see what it might look like were they at that spot, and even look around.

Now, the internet behemoth is introducing an “immersive view” that fuses Street View images with artificial intelligence to create “a rich, digital model of the world,” Miriam Daniel, Google Maps Experiences vice president, said in a post.

“You’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside,” Daniel said.

“With a quick search, you can virtually soar over Westminster to see the neighborhood and stunning architecture of places, like Big Ben, up close.”

Google will start rolling out immersive view later this year, starting in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.

From maps to metaverse

Street View imagery has been gathered in more than 100 countries and territories, ranging from places such as Mount Fuji and Grand Canyon National Park to the Great Barrier Reef.

“If you want to see what it’s like to go down a ski slope, you can see where that snowmobile has gone,” Silverman said, nodding toward a maroon snowmobile in the garage in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, California.

“That trike was really funny because it went around Stonehenge; and we put it on a barge and went down the Amazon River,” he said of another vehicle.

He pointed to a backpack camera system taken for a zip-line ride in the Amazon, to provide a bird’s-eye perspective.

Years spent capturing the real world in 360-degree imagery bodes well for Google when it comes to a future in which internet life shifts to immersive digital worlds, said Creative Strategies tech analyst Carolina Milanesi.

“It absolutely plays into the metaverse,” Milanesi said.

“The idea of a digital twin of the world is certainly one aspect of it that Google will solve.”

Silverman reasoned that, in a sense, Street View has been giving users a virtual experience for more than a decade, and the imagery naturally lends itself to depicting the real world in virtual settings.

“Ideally, that metaverse, that world that we move into, we’re going to be there,” Silverman said.

Scores of tech firms have been rushing to invest in building the metaverse, a loose term covering the growing ecosystem of interactive online worlds, games and 3D meeting places that are already attracting millions of users.

Facebook renamed its parent company to Meta last year to emphasize its virtual reality vision, and opened Horizon World virtual reality platform to the North American public.

Earlier this year, Japanese giant Sony and Lego’s Danish parent firm announced a $2 billion investment in US gaming powerhouse Epic Games for its work toward joining the metaverse vision for the internet’s future.

In the form of video games such as Epic’s hit Fortnite, the precursors of the metaverse already exist in minimalist ways, with people coming together not only to play, but also to interact and participate in events.

What started as a “far-fetched idea” by Page is “critical to our mapping efforts — letting you see the most up-to-date information about the world, while laying the foundation for a more immersive, intuitive map,” Google Maps product director Ethan Russell said in a blog post.

Kanye West has aimed a blistering rant at Kim Kardashian raging about a “porn addiction” which “destroyed” his family and comparing the men to “sperm donors”.

The rapper posted a series of messages online which appeared to be part of a disagreement with Kim over where to send their four children – North, nine, Chicago, four, Saint, six, and Psalm, three – to school with Kanye suggesting he wanted the kids to attend the institution he founded – the Donda Academy – instead of the private Sierra Canyon school in Los Angeles.

In one of the notes posted online, Kanye wrote: “It’s not up to Calabasas or Hulu where my kids go to school I’m not the crazy one here It’s up. I won’t stop until I have a say so on my kids no matter what it legally takes.”

Another post referred to Tristan Thompson, Scott Disick, and Travis Scott – who have all dated Kardashian sisters – and compared them to sperm “donors”. The star added: “We’re in this together.”

Tristan has two kids with Khloe Kardashian, while Scott has three children with Kourtney, and Travis is dad to a son and daughter with Kylie Jenner.

Kanye also shared a screen shot which appeared to show an exchange between him and his ex Kim, with the reality TV star writing: “Can u please stop (sic)” and Kanye replied: “No … We need to talk in person. You don’t have say so of where the kids go to school. Why get say say. Cause you half white?”

Another screen shot appeared to show Kim passing on a message from her mum Kris Jenner. She wrote: “‘From my mom – PLEASE. Tell him to please stop mentioning my name. I’m almost 67 years old and I don’t always feel great and this stresses me to no end.”

Kanye responded: “Y’all don’t have so so over my black children and where they go to school.”

In another message, Kanye seemingly referenced Kim’s infamous sex tape and a shoot she did for Playboy as well as another shoot for the magazine by her sister Kylie.

The musician wrote: “Don’t let Kris make you do playboy like she made Kyle and Kim do Hollywood is a giant brothel Pornography destroyed my family I deal with the addiction Instagram promotes it. Not gonna let it happen to (daughters) Northy and Chicago.”

‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and became parents to four kids before they split in early 2021.

Denise Richards’ husband Aaron Phypers helps her shoot her saucy OnlyFans content.

The 51-year-old ‘Wild Things’ star joined the raunchy website in June just days after her 18-year-old daughter Sami signed up for the service, and Denise has now recruited her partner to help her take the sexiest shots for the adult platform – admitting she values his opinion.

During an appearance on Sirius XM’s ‘Jeff Lewis Live’, she explained: “Aaron takes a lot of my content for me. He knows what guys like. I ask him, I show him things, and say, ‘What do you think?’”

Denise went on to reveal she takes pictures in bikinis and lingerie and isn’t afraid to show off her body – insisting pictures of her semi-naked already exist on the internet,

She told host Jeff: “I do bikini, I do lingerie, I do stuff that is sexier ’cause I also think, ‘Why not?’ if I’m able to do stuff outside of some of the more conservative stuff that’s on my Instagram. I do show my boobies, my tush,” she explained. “They’re already out there if you Google them.”

The actress said she first joined the site to show support for her daughter, but she grew to understand why it feels “empowering”.

She went on: “I did it to support my daughter, being a mom who is an actress who has done stuff, and I just thought it was empowering too as a woman … to take control,” she said. “You own all of the content and (on) a lot of the other platforms, you don’t own the content. So, it’s nice to be able to control it.”

Sami previously faced opposition from her actor dad Charlie Sheen, who wasn’t happy with her decision to join OnlyFans, and she recently revealed he still hasn’t been won over.

The teenager told TMZ: “(My mom) has been incredibly supportive from the jump. I’m grateful to have to her in my corner. But my dad hasn’t seen the light yet. “

Charlie is also dad to another daughter, Lola, 17, with ex-wife Denise.

Jennifer Coolidge thought she was too fat to star in ‘The White Lotus.’

The 60-year-old actress stars as Tanya McQuoid on the HBO comedy series about a group of holidaymakers at a vacation resort in Hawaii but had gained so much weight during the COVID-19 lockdowns that she almost turned down the part.

She said: “It was COVID, [I was] locked up with this very nice girl that I knew in New Orleans. She was sort of a friend [and] my house sitter. It was just very lonely times … and so she and I got obsessed with these vegan pizzas and we were eating a lot of them each day. The number kept increasing. You can sort of numb out any worry you have in the world if you just eat another pizza. … And not that I was 110 pounds before, but somehow it led to my demise.”

The ‘American Pie’ star went on to explain that when show creator Mike White presented her with the project, she didn’t feel as if she was in “fighting shape” and only changed her mind when a friend told her she would be “out of her mind” to reject the part.

She told PEOPLE: “I was like, ‘I just don’t think I can do that.’ I had no time, I can’t work out!’

It was sort of weird, it was not that big a difference from what I usually looked like, but somehow it became my excuse not to do it. For whatever reason, I didn’t feel like I was in fighting shape.

“A girlfriend just gave me this [pep talk and said], ‘You are out of your mind. I don’t even think you know what this is. This is self-sabotage. I’ve been your friend all these years, this is incredible opportunity for you. Are you really going to f*** this up? Are you really going to f*** this up, Jennifer? This is the worst thing you could do to yourself. Just go, just f****** do it. So, for once in my life, I listened.”

Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe felt she “should have done something” to help him battle his addictions.

The King of Pop died aged 50 in 2009 after suffering a cardiac arrest following an overdose of heavy sedative propofol and Debbie – who was married to him between 1996 and 1999 – now looks back on his drug problems with regret that she didn’t do more to help the singer as he struggled.

Speaking in a new documentary for Fox TV, Debbie got emotional as she said: “I should have done something and I didn’t. There is a number of people that died from addictions and in some way I was part of it.”

Debbie previously worked as an assistant to Jackson’s dermatologist Arnold Klein – who had provided the star with strong pain relief – and admitted she felt sorry for her part in the tragedy.

She said: “I was basically as bad as him (Klein) and I am so sorry I participated in it.”

Klein died in 2015 at the age of 70.

Debbie and Jackson married in 1996 and she was the surrogate mother of his two eldest children, Prince and Paris. They’d previously met 15 years earlier while the singer was being treated for a skin condition.

She rarely talks about her relationship with the star, which was shrouded in secrecy from the very start.

During an appearance in 2003 TV ‘Michael Jackson: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See’, Debbie spoke about her relationship with the kids – insisting she was determined to help the ‘Thriller’ star fulfil his dream of becoming a dad.

She said: “I did it for him to become a father, not for me to become a mother. You earn the title parent. I have done absolutely nothing to earn that title. That is because Michael did all the parenting.

“I didn’t do it to be a mother. I didn’t change diapers. I didn’t get up in the middle of the night, even when I was there, Michael did it all.”

Catherine Deneuve has declared she was “never a sex symbol”.

The 78-year-old actress opened up about her life and career as she was presented with the Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on Wednesday (31.08.22) and she insisted she felt it was a “challenege” to be attractive despite being considered one of the most beautiful women in the world.

She said: “I was never a sex symbol. You won’t find me in very sexy photos … It was a challenge to be good-looking, but it’s not something which has been too important for me these past few years, of course. And it’s much better to be old in Europe than it is in America, especially as a woman.”

She also gave a modest observation of her 65-year career, insisting: “There was a lot of luck.”

Catherine also dismissed herself being labelled an “icon”, retorting: “No! That’s a word that can be used, but I’m not, no.”

The screen star has been returning to work recently since suffering a stroke in 2019.

She fell ill while filming the movie ‘De Son Vivant’ in France and spent several weeks in hospital before being allowed to return to her home in Paris to continue her recovery.

In the film she plays a mother whose son is dying of cancer, and she since admitted it felt important to go back to set to finish the film after her health scare.

She told Variety: “After my accident, I simply went back on the shoot of Emmanuelle Bercot’s film because it was important for me to finish it; I thought it would bring me some satisfaction.”

(Reuters) -The U.S. government will provide abortion services to veterans in cases of rape or incest, or when the pregnancy puts the life of the woman at risk, even in states that have banned or restricted the practice, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said on Friday.

The agency said in a policy document that it decided to offer abortions to veterans in response to a wave of U.S. states enacting bans and restrictions on such services since the Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June.

The department determined that “providing access to abortion-related medical services is needed to protect the lives and health of veterans” and the rule was meant to “avert imminent and future harm” to veterans, according to the policy document, which the department submitted to the Office of the Federal Register as an “interim final rule.”

“This is a patient safety decision,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement.

By week’s end, 11 states will likely have near-total bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy in force: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

In Texas, abortion providers could face up to lifetime imprisonment for helping patients terminate a pregnancy. In Oklahoma, where abortion was already banned with few exceptions, a law that took effect on Thursday makes providing an abortion a felony punishable with up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The department’s new policy removes or changes some of provisions in the medical benefits package for veterans that excluded abortion services until now.

Veterans Affairs healthcare providers will determine whether the pregnancy is a risk to the life and health of the veteran on a case-by-case basis, the department said.

In cases of rape or incest, self-reporting by a veteran would constitute sufficient evidence to justify the abortion, it said.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis)

Chris Rock says Will Smith managed to do an impersonation of a “perfect man for 30 years” before showing he is “just as ugly as the rest of us”.

The comic, 57, finally shared his extensive feelings about being slapped by the 53-year-old actor at this year’s Oscars during a gig with fellow stand-up Dave Chappelle at Liverpool’s M and S Arena on the first night of their joint multi-date tour.

Dave, 49, asked Chris in front of the crowd: “Did that s*** hurt?” prompting Chris to exclaim: “Goddam right… the mother***** hit me over a bulls*** joke – the nicest joke I ever told.

“Will did the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped his mask off and showed us he was as ugly as the rest of us.

“Whatever the consequences are… I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on again, and lets his real face breathe. I see myself in both men.”

Chris also took aim at Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 41, during the show on Thursday night (01.09.22) by mocking her complaints about life and the royal family.

He said: “I just don’t get it,” as he spoke about today’s obsession with ‘victimhood’, which the comic labelled a way of getting famous.

Will stormed the stage at the Academy Awards in March and whacked Chris after the comic compared the ‘Seven Pounds’ actor’s wife’s shaven head to actress Demi Moore’s buzzcut in the 1997 film G.I. Jane.

The actor then twice howled at Chris from his seat in front of stunned A-listers and while watched by millions of film fans around the world: “Keep my wife’s name out your f****** mouth.”

Dumfounded Chris said after the slap: “Will Smith just slapped the s*** out of me. Oh, I could go…“ while looking into the stage wings, and then saying: “That was the greatest night in the history of television.”

It was later highlighted Will’s wife of 25 years Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, had shaved her head as she suffers alopecia.

While issued a grovelling apology in on online video earlier this month and has admitted Chris has not responded to his attempts to reach out.

He said: “I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

There was widespread outrage when Will went on to cry on the Oscars stage after the slap while picking up his best actor trophy for best actor for his role in ‘King Richard’, with many of his critics saying he should have immediately been kicked out of the ceremony by Oscars bosses, banned from after-parties, not allowed to pick up his award and questioned by police.

He has since been banned from Oscars events for 10 years.

Chris is scheduled to perform with Dave Chappelle in London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam before they return to America later this month for more shows.

Dolly Parton is releasing wigs for dogs.

The ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker has teamed up with SportPet designs to create a pet apparel line called ‘Doggy Parton’ and as well as a “blonde bombshell” hairpiece, items in the range include a pink cowgirl hat with tiara, a “gingham Western print two-piece collar and leash set,” tour t-shirts, cowgirl dresses, bandanas, and squeaky toys.

A portion of the proceeds from the range will go to rescue organisation Willa B. Farms.

Dolly said in a statement: “‘Puppy Love’ was my very first record and six decades later, my love for pets is stronger than ever.

“This inspired me to start my own line of Doggy Parton apparel, accessories, toys and more with a little ‘Dolly’ flair.

“Part of the proceeds will support Willa B Farms, a rescue where animals in need find never-ending love. Don’t we all need that?’ “

Earlier this month, the 76-year-old county legend unveiled another non-musical venture; plans for a new rollercoaster at her Dollywood theme park.

The Big Bear Mountain will open at the attraction – which opened in Tennessee in 1986 – in 2023 and will feature “three separate launches, multiple airtime hills, high-speed carousel turns, and tunnels, including a pass behind a waterfall”.

The ‘Jolene’ singer is excited fans will be able to travel the Smoky Mountains themselves via the ride while referencing her 1994 song ‘Smoky Mountain Memories.’

She tweeted: “The Smokies are all about adventure and going exploring. I’m excited our guests will be able to head out on their own trip into the Smokies to see if they can find that Big Bear. Whether he’s out there or not, I’m sure they’ll find a lot of memories along the way that they’ll keep forever.”

Meanwhile, Dollywood president Eugene Naughton explained that the ride was “family-friendly” and described it as being “comfortable fun.”

He said: “If you’re going to be the No. 1 family attraction in the United States, your product needs to be family-friendly. So, within this ride called Big Bear Mountain, I like to call it comfortable fun.”

Los Angeles (AFP) – US actress and activist Jane Fonda announced Friday that she has cancer, and has begun chemotherapy.

The 84-year-old Oscar winner, a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party vowed to fight the “very treatable” illness.

“I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote on her verified Instagram account.

“This is a very treatable cancer. 80 percent of people survive, so I feel very lucky. 

“I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments.”

Fonda, an avowed environmentalist and social campaigner, said her position was more fortunate than that of many others in her situation.

“Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right.”

Fonda first appeared on screen in 1960, and scored Academy Awards for best actress for “Klute” (1971) and “Coming Home” (1978).

She has scored five other Oscar nominations in her career, four of them for best actress.

Fonda continues to work, and appears as the voice of an elegant dragon who is the CEO of a luck-making operation in the Apple TV+ animation “Luck”. 

She also stars in the popular, long-running Netflix hit “Grace and Frankie.”

By Michael Erman and Julie Steenhuysen

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized updated COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that target the dominant BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, as the government prepares for a broad fall vaccination campaign that could begin within days.

The new vaccines also include the original version of the virus targeted by all the previous COVID shots.

The FDA authorized the shots for everyone ages 12 and older who has had a primary vaccination series and is at least two months out from a previous booster shot, shorter than prior recommended intervals.

Dr. Peter Marks, a senior FDA official overseeing vaccines, said he hopes the shots will restore the very good protection against symptomatic disease that the original vaccines offered when launched in late 2020 and early 2021.

“We don’t know for a fact yet whether we will get to that same level, but that is the goal here,” Marks said.

The government has begun working on the fall rollout, which could start soon after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) outside expert panel meets on Thursday and agency Director Rochelle Walensky makes a final recommendation.

The United States has secured more than 170 million doses of the two shots in an attempt to stave off the worst effects of a potential surge in infections as schools reconvene and people spend more time indoors due to colder weather.

This could be the last COVID vaccine provided for free to all Americans as the government plans to shift them to the commercial insurance market next year.

Moderna’s retooled vaccine was authorized for those aged 18 and above, while the Pfizer/BioNTech shot will be available for those aged 12 and above, the FDA said.

Pfizer said it has some doses ready to ship immediately and can deliver up to 15 million doses by Sept 9. Moderna said it expects its new shot to be available “in the coming days.”

Experts have said that the updated vaccines will be important for older people and the immunocompromised, but noted there is limited data to support the level of protection the government is hoping for.

“For people who haven’t been infected whose last dose was a year ago, yes, it’s going to benefit them. How much, I can’t tell you,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine expert at the Mayo Clinic. He said the new shots are unlikely to help those who have been recently infected.

The revaccination campaign this fall is expected to target many more people than the previous boosters authorized by the FDA earlier this year. Concerns about long COVID was one reason younger and healthier Americans should get the shot, officials said.

“If anything is going to prevent transmission and long COVID, it’s going to be a variant specific vaccine for the variant that’s currently circulating,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said.

DIFFERENT VACCINES IN OTHER COUNTRIES

About 50% of those in the United States over the age of 12 – some 107 million people – have received at least one COVID-19 booster dose so far.

Some scientists were critical of the recommendation that would allow for a new booster just two months after a prior shot, saying a longer gap would improve immune responses. FDA officials said the vast majority of Americans are significantly more than two months out from their most recent shot.

Other countries including Canada and the UK also have ordered updated Omicron vaccine boosters for fall campaigns, although some have purchased shots tailored to the BA.1 Omicron subvariant that caused the record surge in COVID cases last winter.

The FDA in June asked vaccine makers to tailor shots to the BA.4/BA.5 subvariants of the virus responsible for the most recent surge in infections worldwide. The BA.5 subvariant accounts for more than 88% of U.S. infections.

The vaccine makers have not completed testing of the updated BA.4/BA.5-based boosters in humans. The FDA is basing its decision on safety and effectiveness data from the original shots as well as from clinical trials conducted on boosters using the BA.1 Omicron subvariant.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Michael Erman in Maplewood New Jersey; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)

New York (AFP) – Warning of “difficult trade-offs” ahead of a feared fall Covid-19 wave, the Biden administration Friday urged Congress to approve $22.4 billion more to maintain key testing and vaccine programs.

The request comes as the government readies a new fall initiative for Covid-19 vaccine boosters targeting the Omicron variant after US officials recommended Thursday new Pfizer and Moderna shots.

Biden’s request for more money faces an uncertain fate on Capitol Hill amid pandemic fatigue and elevated partisanship ahead of the midterm elections.

Noting that a previous White House demand for additional Covid-19 funds stalled in Congress, the administration has been forced “to pull existing funding from critical needs to meet the most pressing needs,” according to an administration memo ahead of the September 30 end of fiscal year 2022.

The government on Friday suspended its program to provide free at-home Covid-19 testing kits, citing the lack of congressional funding.

The government currently has “some tests available in the stockpile, but we do not have enough if there were a surge this fall,” an administration official told reporters on a briefing.

Administration officials also said continued lack of funding would necessitate a transition from government-financed Covid-19 vaccines to a commercial model that would leave out some people.

The latest batch of vaccines will continue to be free to the public “through the fall into next year,” an administration official said.

“We were always going to have to transition to commercialization, but we’ve had to accelerate the timeline without additional funding,” the official said, noting the need to provide underinsured and uninsured to “the life saving protection of a vaccine.”

Besides Covid-19 programs, the administration sought additional funds to support Ukraine, combat the monkeypox outbreak and address natural disasters in Kentucky, California and other states.