COVID

The latest COVID boosters are in for the fall. Here's what that means for you

5:23am September 13, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dr. Robert Wachter about the latest round of FDA-approved COVID-19 boosters and how people should think about the coronavirus and its risk.

Queue Listen Now

New COVID-19 vaccines received the backing of a panel of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday. The shots will be available across the country later this week.

Health & Safety

CDC advisers back broad rollout of new COVID boosters

8:31pm September 12, 2023

A panel of doctors and scientists advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend that people 6 months of age and older get new COVID boosters this fall.

Queue Listen Now

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wave as they arrive at the White House, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Washington after a vacation in Lake Tahoe.

First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, again

10:24pm September 04, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

The White House says President Biden tested negative, and will continue to be tested ahead of a planned trip to India this week. The First Lady will remain in Delaware.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to become the latest government official to travel to China amid rising tensions between the two countries. The worsening relations are leaving American companies facing an uncertain environment.

Economy

How high tensions between China and the U.S. are impacting American companies

11:56am August 26, 2023

by David Gura

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to travel to China at a time when U.S. executives and investors are facing increasing uncertainty and risk doing business there.

Queue Listen Now

Mandy Cohen speaks at a news conference in 2021.

The new CDC director outlines 3 steps to rebuild trust with the public

5:00am August 02, 2023

Mandy Cohen led North Carolina's department of Health & Human Services throughout the pandemic. Now, she's taking what she learned to the national level.

Queue Listen Now

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are ticking up. But even if illnesses keep rising, it appears unlikely that they will hit previous summer peaks.

Health & Safety

The CDC sees signs of a late summer COVID wave

5:59pm July 28, 2023

by Rob Stein

In July, coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and emergency room visits have inched up. Recent summers have seen a bump in COVID-19. This year's rise looks modest so far.

Queue Listen Now

A new study finds a gap in excess deaths opened between Republicans and Democrats in 2021, after vaccine access was widened to all adults. Here, a Walgreens worker prepares vaccine shots for school staff in Dayton, Ohio, in February 2021.

A political gap in excess deaths widened after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, study says

2:17pm July 25, 2023

by Bill Chappell

After vaccines became widely available in 2021, "the excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters," Yale researchers say.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is shown leaving 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on May 25, 2022.

World News

Inquiry finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over 'partygate'

11:44am June 15, 2023

A U.K. parliamentary committee says the former PM's lies over COVID rule breaches were "unprecedented," and recommends he be denied a pass to ever enter the parliament building again.

Mountain goats roamed the streets of LLandudno, Wales in March of 2020, as the COVID-19 lockdown kept people and tourists away.

Science

Humans traveled less during COVID restrictions. Animals traveled more

4:46pm June 08, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Animals being tracked by scientists tended to travel longer distances in the early months of the pandemic, when people stayed home. The wildlife also ventured closer to roads.

A poster in Kolkata, India, from peak pandemic days sends a message to mask up. Now that the official COVID-19 global emergency is no longer in effect, some folks are thrilled to stop masking — but others wonder if it's a good idea to keep up certain precautions.

Coronavirus FAQ: 'Emergency' over! Do we unmask and grin? Or adjust our worries?

4:46pm May 12, 2023

by Fran Kritz

Now that official COVID emergency declarations have ended, how should people evaluate their risk of SARS-CoV-2? That's the subject of our frequently asked questions offering.