covid-19 treatments

Dr. Jonas Salk, the scientist who created the polio vaccine, administers an injection to an unidentified boy at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1954.

The Race For A Polio Vaccine Differed From The Quest To Prevent Coronavirus

3:14pm May 22, 2020

by Joe Palca

In the 1950s, as Dr. Jonas Salk and virologist Albert Sabin worked to create a vaccine to prevent infantile paralysis, the threat from polio was already long familiar to Americans.

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Hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to prevent malaria and treat certain autoimmune conditions, is being studied to treat or prevent COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Politics Around Hydroxychloroquine Hamper Science

1:03pm May 21, 2020

by Will Stone

Some scientists think this drug has promise for COVID-19. But controversy around the drug is complicating the job of scientists who just want to find answers.

Sophie Avouris, 102, recently recovered from the coronavirus. She was a baby when the 1918 influenza pandemic spread across Europe. She lived through the Great Depression and World War II before emigrating from Greece to the U.S. in the 1950s.

Health & Safety

102-Year-Old New York Woman Recovers From Coronavirus

5:03pm May 18, 2020

by Paola Ortiz

When Sophie Avouris of New York came down with COVID-19, her family did not expect her to recover. Avouris' doctor is not sure how she beat the illness.

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A view of Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., earlier this month. Moderna is touting preliminary data from an initial coronavirus vaccine trial.

New Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate Shows Promise In Early, Limited Trial

3:44pm May 18, 2020

by Joe Palca

Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna, Inc., is reporting preliminary data suggesting its COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and appears to be triggering an immune response in test subjects.

After testing positive for COVID-19, Diana Berrent established Survivor Corps, a grassroots clearinghouse for COVID-19 survivors interested in donating blood plasma to organizations developing therapies that might combat the disease.

Market For Blood Plasma From COVID-19 Survivors Heats Up

5:00am May 11, 2020

by JoNel Aleccia

As many firms and academic researchers vie for blood donations from survivors in hopes of isolating components for new treatments, one project is turning for help from 10,000 Orthodox Jewish women.

Footage issued by Britain's Oxford University shows a person injected as part of human trials in the U.K. to test a potential coronavirus vaccine last month. Pfizer on Monday began U.S. trials of another vaccine candidate.

Health & Safety

Pfizer Begins Coronavirus Vaccine Trial In U.S.

11:44am May 05, 2020

by Joe Palca

The vaccine, developed in a partnership between the pharmaceutical giant and a German biotech company, began trials on Monday with 360 volunteer subjects.

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.

A bottle of hydroxycloroquine sits on a table outside the entrance to The Resort at Texas City nursing home, where Robin Armstrong, a doctor and the home's medical director, is giving the drug to residents

COVID-19 Patients Given Unproven Drug In Texas Nursing Home, Garnering Criticism

6:16pm April 10, 2020

by Vanessa Romo

A Texas doctor decided to give dozens of coronavirus patients at a nursing home a controversial, experimental medication, in some cases without telling their families first. He defends the decision.

Health care workers assist a COVID-19 patient in Spain. Some evidence from Europe and China suggests an overzealous immune response may be contributing to the severe illness in some patients.

Health & Safety

Why Some COVID-19 Patients Crash: The Body's Immune System Might Be To Blame

10:12pm April 07, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

An overblown immune response could be killing a portion of the sick, and some doctors think that new treatments being tested could help at least some of those patients.

Aetna was the first insurer to announce its plan to help shield patients with COVID-19 from high medical bills. But out-of-network charges and other surprise bills remain a risk, say advocates for patients.

Some Insurers Waive Patients' Share Of Costs For COVID-19 Treatment

6:56pm March 30, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Aetna, Cigna and Humana now say they will waive most treatment costs associated with COVID-19 that would normally be picked up by patients enrolled in their health plans. Will other firms follow suit?