Coronavirus Vaccine | Entertainment News, Photos, and Videos

President Joe Biden is sharing some optimistic news.

The President of the United States announced on Tuesday (March 2) that the vaccine timeline has shortened, and there will be enough for every American adult by May.

“About three weeks ago, we were able to say that we’ll have enough vaccine supply for adults by the end of July, and I’m pleased to announce today, as a consequence of this stepped-up process that I’ve ordered and just outlined, this country will have enough vaccine supply…for every adult in America by the end of May,” he said.

The news comes as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine received FDA approval, becoming the third vaccine to be used in the U.S.

The president also said he wants teachers and school workers to receive at least one vaccine shot “by the end of March.”

“Now I want to be very clear. Not every educator will be able to get their appointment in the first week. But our goal is to do everything we can to help every educator receive a shot this month, the month of March,” he said.

“This fight is far from over. I told you, I would be straight up with you from the very beginning. As I said many times, things may get worse again as new variants spread and as we face setbacks,” he said.

“Though we celebrate the news of a third vaccine, I urge all Americans, please, keep washing your hands. Stay socially distanced. Wear masks. Keep wearing them. Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Now is not the time to let up. I’ve asked the country to wear masks for my first 100 days in office. Now is not the time to let our guard down.”

One celebrity who helped to fund the vaccine just got their own first dose.

Dolly Parton‘s contribution to science is paying off, and now she’s getting a dose of it herself.

The 75-year-old music icon got her first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday (March 2).

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Dolly Parton

“Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” she cleverly captioned the post, referencing her own funding of the Moderna vaccine.

Back in April of 2020, Dolly pledged a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville towards COVID-19 research and support.

At the same time, Dolly recently made headlines after humbly asking legislators to stop considering building a statue in her likeness. Find out why!

A third coronavirus vaccine is now approved for emergency use in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson‘s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the FDA and recommended on Sunday (February 28) by the CDC’s advisory committee for adults 18 years and older in the U.S., via the Washington Post.

“After a thorough analysis of the data, the FDA’s scientists and physicians have determined that the vaccine meets the FDA’s expectations for safety and effectiveness appropriate for the authorization of a vaccine for emergency use,” said the FDA‘s Peter Marks.

The vaccine is the first that requires only one shot, and the first that can be stored at refrigerator temperatures for months at a time.

Doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are expected to begin shipping on Monday (March 1), according to the Associated Press, and the company already has a “few million doses,” promising 20 million doses will be available by the end of March in the U.S., and 100 million by the summer.

The FDA confirmed that the vaccine is 66 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19. While the effectiveness isn’t as strong as Pfizer and Moderna’s numbers, experts say that it shouldn’t be compared because trials were conducted when there were more variants, unlike the first two approved vaccines.

“We’re a single shot…and now we’ve produced data that say that our vaccine is highly effective, 85% effective against severe COVID, 100% effective against hospitalization or death,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D. and the global head of Janssen Research & Development said at the time.

President Joe Biden released a statement calling the decision “exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis.”

“We know that the more people get vaccinated, the faster we will overcome the virus, get back to our friends and loved ones, and get our economy back on track. Thanks to the brilliance of our scientists, the resilience of our people, and the eagerness of Americans in every community to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting vaccinated, we are moving in the right direction,” he went on to say.

Over 70 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country so far, according to CDC data.

Find out which stars already received the vaccine.

Queen Elizabeth II is opening up about getting the coronavirus vaccine in a rare video call.

The 94-year-old monarch revealed that getting her first dose was relatively harmless, but important.

“Well, once you’ve had the vaccine you have a feeling of, you know, you’re protected, which is, I think, very important,” Her Majesty told officials in the video, via USA Today.

She added, “As far as I can make out it was quite harmless, very quick. And I’ve had lots of letters from people who’ve been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine.”

Queen Elizabeth also emphasized the importance of getting the vaccine, as it rolls out in the United Kingdom, as it will help to protect everyone, not just the person who gets the shot.

“It is obviously difficult for people, if they’ve never had a vaccine, because they ought to think about other people rather than themselves,” she said.

The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, received the vaccination last month, and their grandson, Prince William, was so proud of them for doing so.

Prince Charles, who is Elizabeth and Philip‘s eldest child, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have also received the vaccine.

Amanda Kloots is speaking out about the backlash she received for getting the COVID-19 vaccine and how she turned all of the shaming into positivity.

The 38-year-old fitness instructor and The Talk co-host, who lost her husband Nick Cordero to the virus, got the first dose of the vaccine last week after waiting in a standby line at a vaccination site.

For those that don’t know, if people don’t show up for their vaccine appointments, those doses are usually thrown in the trash as they will expire. Amanda decided to wait in the standby line and lucked out when there were extra doses available at the end of the day. People shamed her for getting the vaccine before she was eligible, though she did nothing wrong.

“I’m not even going to focus on that shame, because I don’t spend time in my life focusing on negativity. But this post got a lot of shame, the shame got press, that press turned into conversation, that conversation turned into awareness, and then that awareness turned into positivity. That is how I roll. And that is how I live my life!” Amanda said. “It just boggled my mind that anyone would rather see a vaccine go to waste than go into a willing arm.”

You can watch the full segment from The Talk below.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is getting candid about the pandemic.

The 80-year-old immunologist expert made an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, where he discussed the reality of the virus.

During the appearance, he warned it is “possible” that Americans will be wearing masks in 2022.

“It depends on the level of dynamics of virus that it’s the community…if you see the level coming down really, really very low, I want it keep going down to a baseline that’s so low that there’s virtually no threat – it’ll never be zero – but a minimal, minimal threat that you will be exposed to someone who’s infected. So if you combine getting most of the people in the country vaccinated with getting the level of virus in the community very very low, then I believe you’re going to be able to say, for the most part, we don’t necessarily have to wear masks,” he went on to say.

“I think we’re going to have a significant degree of normality, beyond the terrible burden all of us have been through in the last year, that as we get into the fall and winter… we will be approaching a degree of normality,” he also said.

“When it goes way down and the overwhelming majority of the people in the population are vaccinated, then I would feel comfortable in saying, you know, ‘We need to pull back on the masks,’ ” he continued.

At the same time, the New York Times reported that the U.S. is likely to hit half a million deaths due to coronavirus in the next few days.

“It’s nothing like we’ve ever been through in the last 102 years since the 1918 influenza pandemic. People decades from now are going to be talking about this as a terribly historic milestone in the history of this country,” he said.

“It really is a terrible situation that we’ve been through and that we’re still going through, and that’s the reason why we keep insisting to continue with the public health measures because we don’t want this to get much worse than it already is.”

Fauci also recently revealed he was blocked from being able to do this.

South Park is once again addressing the pandemic.

Comedy Central announced a second coronavirus-themed South Park episode is coming, called South ParQ The Vaccination Special, which will debut on Comedy Central on March 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a simulcast on MTV2.

The first-hour long special became the highest-rated episode of the series in seven years, and followed Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny as they went back to school amid the “new normal.”

The upcoming special will “follow the chaos as the town clamors to get a coveted dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the boys face off against a militant group which is trying to prevent them getting a vaccine for their teacher,” via Hypebeast.

The teaser for the upcoming special was released at the same time as the announcement.

An iconic adult animated series is also set to be rebooted at Comedy Central.