NPR's All Things Considered AILSA CHANG, HOST Interview with Dr. Bob Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine, UCSF ~ Originally aired July 27, 2022 We spoke to Dr. Bob Wachter today, a few days after he went to a gathering of friends from college. And there were...
For two years, this Washington island has grappled with the long reach of COVID
By WILL STONE & LYNN JOHNSON ~ Originally published May 18, 2022 Tony Johnson sits on his bed with his dog, Dash, in the one-room home he shares with his wife, Karen Johnson, in a care facility in Burlington, Wash. on April 13, 2022. Johnson was one of the first...
The mask mandate is off for U.S. travelers. In other countries it’s definitely on
By KAMALA THIAGARAJAN The mask mandate for domestic U.S. flights has been lifted — although it might come back. Here's why you might still want to wear masks on public transport But what about the rest of the world? Masking up is still a requirement with a number of...
The judge who tossed mask mandate misunderstood public health law, legal experts say
By JOE HERNANDEZ When U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle tossed out the federal government's transportation mask mandate on Monday, she relied in part on her interpretation of the term "sanitation." The 10-letter word can be found in the Public...
Lifesaving COVID drugs are sitting unused on pharmacy shelves, HHS data shows
By PIEN HUANG Even as this winter's omicron surge recedes, more than 2,000 people in the U.S. still get hospitalized with COVID-19 each day. This population is largely unvaccinated, with medical conditions that increase their risks. Some of these...
Americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own
By JOHN BURNETT There's a private Facebook group with nearly 8,000 members called Conservatives Moving to Texas. Three of them are sitting at a dinner table — munching on barbecue weenies and brownies — in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. None are vaxxed. And...
When moms get vaccinated during pregnancy, babies get protection too, study shows
By MARIA GODOY Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy may also help protect babies after they're born, according to new research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Babies whose mothers received two shots of either the...
Take a look at SARS-CoV-2’s family tree. It’s full of surprises
By MICHAELEEN DOUCLEFF In many ways, viruses are like families — giant, complicated, extended families with cousins, aunts, uncles, grannies and grandpas galore. Just as with human families, scientists can generate family trees for viruses, showing how each member (or...
A Texas team comes up with a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer
A vaccine authorized in December for use in India may help solve one of the most vexing problems in global public health: How to supply lower-income countries with a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe, effective and affordable. The vaccine is called CORBEVAX. It uses old...
Omicron is now the dominant COVID strain in the U.S., making up 73% of new infections
By JONATHAN FRANKLIN The omicron variant is now considered the most dominant version of the coronavirus — making up 73% of new COVID-19 infections last week in the U.S., according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday. The...
The political fight over vaccine mandates deepens despite their effectiveness
By Alana Wise The science is clear: Vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from the coronavirus, and vaccine mandates are an effective tool in promoting widespread vaccinations. Still, the battle to...
How Ivermectin Became The New Focus Of The Anti-Vaccine Movement
By PIEN HUANG Through July and August, Julie Smith watched her husband, Jeffrey, get worse and worse from COVID-19. In early July, the healthy outdoorsman, 51, had tested positive for the coronavirus. Within a week, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at a...
I Got A ‘Mild’ Breakthrough Case. Here’s What I Wish I’d Known
By Will Stone The test results that hot day in early August shouldn't have surprised me — all the symptoms were there. A few days earlier, fatigue had enveloped me like a weighted blanket. I chalked it up to my weekend of travel. Next, a headache clamped down on the...
Highly Vaccinated Israel Is Seeing A Dramatic Surge In New COVID Cases. Here’s Why
By Daniel Estrin Israel was the first country on Earth to fully vaccinate a majority of its citizens against COVID-19. Now it has one of the world's highest daily infection rates — an average of nearly 7,500 confirmed cases a day, double what it was two weeks ago....
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Is Coming Back Despite The Ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic
Crowds of bikers are rumbling their way towards South Dakota's Black Hills this week, raising fears that COVID-19 infections will be unleashed among the 700,000 people expected to show up at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.The rally, which starts Friday, has become a...