On Aging

When NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans' mother died, the funeral service was streamed online in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. But the usual comfort and sense of community of sitting shoulder to shoulder with others at his mother's church cou

Health & Safety

When A Beloved Life Ends, Virtual Hugs Can't Replace Human Touch

12:10pm May 03, 2020

by Eric Deggans

How many more might recover, if they had a loved one by their side while fighting for life? An only son aches for the healing power of human touch in his mother's last days, and at her funeral.

A member of the AltaMed Health Services staff prepares to take a sample at a drive-through coronavirus testing site in Los Angeles.

California's Coronavirus Testing Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots

6:00am May 03, 2020

Access to testing is still uneven in the nation's largest state. Even as some urban counties offer tests to anyone who wants one, a rural county is testing raw sewage to track the virus.

Patients were evacuated from the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside, Calif., after staff failed to report to work.

State Examining Southern California Nursing Home Where Staff Were No-Shows

8:27pm April 29, 2020

by Ina Jaffe

The Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was forced to move more than 80 residents when staff failed to report to work for two consecutive days.

A project in San Francisco to estimate spread of the coronavirus in hard-hit neighborhoods has expanded testing to everyone over age 4 in a broad swath of the Mission District this week, including at a pop-up site at Garfield Square.

San Francisco Enlists A Key Latino Neighborhood In Coronavirus Testing

4:43pm April 28, 2020

by Eric Westervelt

To get better data this week on a hard-hit community, the public health department and researchers are offering free testing for everyone over age 4 in a broad swath of the Mission District.

A pathologist holds a vial from a COVID-19 test kit. Various bottlenecks in the U.S. that have constrained widespread testing for the coronavirus were problems in February and persist today.

Why The Warning That Coronavirus Was On The Move In U.S. Cities Came So Late

10:38am April 24, 2020

by Lauren Sommer

U.S. health officials said equipping six cities with extra testing would pick up under-the-radar viral spread. But an NPR investigation finds conflicts and shortages caused painful delays.

Queue Listen Now

Susan Pinker: What Makes Social Connection So Vital To Our Well-Being?

9:13am April 24, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

Psychologist Susan Pinker explains why face-to-face connection is a human necessity. But during this period of isolation, she says some ways of connecting online are better substitutes than others.

Queue Listen Now

A hospital patient in Stamford, Conn., who has COVID-19 symptoms gets his temperature checked. Severe infections with the novel coronavirus have been unusually high among African Americans and Latinos in many hospitals.

Health & Safety

Opinion: U.S. Must Avoid Building Racial Bias Into COVID-19 Emergency Guidance

7:00am April 21, 2020

States are releasing "Crisis Standards of Care" guidelines, aimed at helping desperate hospitals discern how to allocate scarce resources. But the guidance doesn't factor in health care inequalities.

All 84 residents of Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside, Calif., were evacuated from the facility in early April after 39 residents tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health & Safety

Discharging COVID-19 Patients To Nursing Homes Called A 'Recipe For Disaster'

9:57am April 20, 2020

by Ina Jaffe

New York and New Jersey want nursing homes to accept recovering hospital patients, regardless of their COVID-19 status, to free up space in hospitals. What's to keep the virus from spreading?

Queue Listen Now

COMIC: Looking For A 'Helper' In The Age Of Coronavirus

7:01am April 18, 2020

by Malaka Gharib

Mister Rogers said "look for the helpers" in times of crisis. Here's the story of Shah Dedar. He's 32, he's a Tom Hanks fan — and he works to protect the most vulnerable in crowded refugee camps.

In 1989, Fauci and then-U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan (right) announced results of studies showing that the antiviral drug AZT had delayed the onset of disease in some people with HIV.

Long Before COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci 'Changed Medicine In America Forever'

5:33pm April 16, 2020

by Dave Davies

New Yorker writer Michael Specter covered Fauci's early work in the AIDS epidemic. "He's always taken an open-minded approach to the problems," Specter says of the infectious-disease expert.

Queue Listen Now