Genetic samples from the market were recently uploaded to an international database and then removed after scientists asked China about them. By Benjamin Mueller An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in...
W.H.O. Accuses China of Hiding Data That May Link Covid’s Origins to Animals
Genetic research from China suggests to some experts that the coronavirus may have sprung from a seafood market in Wuhan. Now the data are missing from a scientific database. By Benjamin Mueller The World Health Organization rebuked Chinese officials on Friday for...
Why the Odds Are Stacked Against a Promising New Covid Drug
A new drug quashes all coronavirus variants. But regulatory hurdles and a lack of funding make it unlikely to reach the U.S. market anytime soon. By Benjamin Mueller Over the past year, America’s arsenal of Covid treatments has shrunk as new variants of the...
As Officials Ease Covid Restrictions, China Faces New Pandemic Risks
Huge swaths of the nation’s elderly remain vulnerable, scientists say, and a surge in deaths and hospitalizations may be inevitable. By Benjamin Mueller and Alexandra Stevenson Originally published December 2, 2022 in The New York Times As one country after another...
The End of Vaccines at ‘Warp Speed’
Financial and bureaucratic barriers in the United States mean that the next generation of Covid vaccines may well be designed here, but used elsewhere. By Benjamin Mueller Operation Warp Speed, the Trump-era program that poured billions of dollars into developing...
G.O.P. Senator’s Report on Covid Origins Suggests Lab Leak, but Offers Little New Evidence
The report, signed by Senator Richard Burr, foreshadows a new wave of political wrangling over Covid’s origins if Republicans gain control of the House or Senate. By Benjamin Mueller and Carl Zimmer The top Republican on the Senate health committee said in...
Updated Booster Shots Expected Within Days as C.D.C. Signs Off
The debut of Omicron-specific vaccines raises a thorny question: How long should you wait between shots? By Benjamin Mueller The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended that the vast majority of Americans receive an updated...
Fall Vaccination Campaign Will Bring New Shots, Worse Access
Updated Covid vaccines, expected soon after Labor Day, were designed to thwart Omicron variants. But money to distribute them has dried up. By Benjamin Mueller Long past the point when pollsters said there were no more Americans willing to be vaccinated against the...
U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries
By Benjamin Mueller and Eleanor Lutz Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic....
As Omicron Surges, Officials Shorten Isolation Times for Many Americans
Hoping to prevent further disruptions to daily life, the C.D.C. reduced the period that certain infected Americans must sequester. By Benjamin Mueller and Isabella Grullón Paz As daily coronavirus cases in the United States soared to near record levels, federal health...
Merck’s Covid Pill Might Pose Risks for Pregnant Women
Some laboratory studies suggest that molnupiravir can insert errors in DNA, which could in theory harm a developing fetus, sperm cells or children. By Benjamin Mueller A new Covid-19 pill from Merck has raised hopes that it could transform the landscape of...
They Shunned Covid Vaccines but Embraced Antibody Treatment
Championed by doctors and conservative radio hosts alike, monoclonal antibodies for Covid are in high demand — even from those who don’t want a vaccine. By Benjamin Mueller Lanson Jones did not think that the coronavirus would come for him. An avid tennis player in...