COVID

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: I got it on a family vacay! Can my relatives stay (relatively) safe?

5:19pm July 22, 2022

by Marc Silver

It's a common dilemma in this summer of surging travel and surging COVID. If one member of a vacation party comes down with the virus, what steps can be taken to reduce the risk to others?

President Biden arrives at the White House on Jan. 29, 2021. On Thursday, the White House announced that Biden had tested positive for COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Even if you're the president, it's hard to avoid a breakthrough COVID infection

6:02pm July 21, 2022

by Jason Breslow

With his positive test for COVID-19, President Biden joins the throngs of Americans who have contracted the coronavirus even though they are vaccinated and boosted.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (right) has sued the CDC over its air travel mask mandate, while Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (left) has sued and sent cease and desist letters to dozens of school districts over mask mandates.

Conservative blocs unleash wave of litigation to curb public health powers

5:00am July 18, 2022

A coalition of religious groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican attorneys general have chipped away at local and state authority, altering how the nation can respond during health crises.

A selfie of Beth Kenny (foreground), their wife Adina (middle), and their child Vyla sitting in their backyard in Alameda, Calif. Since the lifting of COVID safety measures, Kenny and their family have had to pull back from indoor activities, and they str

Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality

5:27am July 14, 2022

by Shruti Rajkumar

With COVID safety protocols rescinding around the country, many are returning to a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. But disabled and immunocompromised people can't do so, and are being left behind.

Dr. Atul Gawande delivers a speech in 2015. In January 2022, he became the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development's work in global health.

Faced with COVID and monkeypox, new USAID leader draws strength from African proverb

5:40pm July 11, 2022

by Ailsa Chang

Dr Atul Gawande, the surgeon and bestselling health writer talks, to NPR about the problems he has inherited as the new head of USAID's global health office.

A pulse oximeter is worn by Brown University professor Kimani Toussaint. The devices have been shown in research to produce inaccurate results in dark-skinned people, and Toussaint's lab is developing technology that would be more accurate, regardless of

When it comes to darker skin, pulse oximeters fall short

1:19pm July 11, 2022

by Craig LeMoult

These devices measure blood oxygen levels and can help identify when patients are dangerously ill. But research shows they can deliver misleading results for people with darker skin.

The science isn't entirely settled on whether a rapid antigen test indicates whether a person is still contagious.

Health & Safety

Still testing positive after day 10? How to decide when to end your COVID isolation

5:02am June 30, 2022

by Will Stone

Nobody wants to infect their friends and friendly, but do you really have to keep isolating at day 12, 13 or beyond? Unfortunately — and perhaps unsurprisingly — the science is not entirely settled.

Los Angeles Unified School District food service workers pre-package hundreds of free school lunches in plastic bags.

Politics & Government

The House extended a school meal lifeline; families are now waiting on the Senate

2:29pm June 23, 2022

by Ximena Bustillo

Congress is rushing to pass an extension for some of the school meal waivers that provided support to families and schools during the pandemic that expire June 30.

A father plays with his son at a park in Amritsar, India, on Father's Day in June 2016.

National

For many dads, the COVID pandemic brought new perspectives on fatherhood

8:39am June 19, 2022

by Shauneen Miranda

With the pandemic giving fathers working from home a chance to spend more time with their kids, dads look back on how they've maintained the balance between their jobs and their families.

Freetown Elementary School students Mason Santos, left, and Mila Talbot, right, pet Huntah the dog after she finishes checking a classroom.

Dogs trained to sniff out COVID in schools are getting a lot of love for their efforts

11:53am June 16, 2022

by Ari Daniel

A school in southeastern Massachusetts latches onto a novel program that uses canines to sniff out COVID on surfaces. The idea is to help protect kids from the virus and keep the school open.

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