Global Health

Health & Safety

Coronavirus Safety Precautions Make Influenza Nearly Disappear In Southern Hemisphere

5:20pm August 26, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists say influenza has almost disappeared in the Southern Hemisphere due to COVID-19 precautions, suggesting the Northern Hemisphere may avoid the double whammy of the coronavirus and flu.

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Volunteer Ekebar Emet, a 21-year-old student, publicizes epidemic prevention measures in Urumqi in northwest China's Xinjiang region on Aug. 3. His messaging reaches an estimated 78 households each day.

Health & Safety

China Calls It A 'Wartime Mode' COVID-19 Lockdown. And Residents Are Protesting

2:30pm August 26, 2020

by Emily Feng

Across China, life has largely returned to normal — except in the western region of Xinjiang. Some 22 million people have been under heavy lockdown since July — and they're questioning its severity.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn drew a hailstorm of criticism from scientists this week for mischaracterizing a study's findings in a way that hyped the benefits of convalescent plasma. He later apologized, but critics say the damag

FDA's Hahn Apologizes For Overselling Plasma's Benefits As A COVID-19 Treatment

7:15pm August 25, 2020

by Richard Harris

The Food and Drug Administration's chief said Sunday the therapy reduces deaths among COVID-19 patients by 35%. On Monday he apologized, acknowledging that statistic greatly exaggerates any benefit.

An oral polio vaccine, which contains weakened live virus, is administered in a health enter in Togo. Africa has declared that wild polio has been eradicated, but a relatively small number of cases of vaccine-derived polio persist.

Health & Safety

Africa Declares Wild Polio Is Wiped Out — Yet It Persists In Vaccine-Derived Cases

6:52pm August 25, 2020

by Maria Godoy

The Kick Polio Out of Africa Campaign began in 1996. This week, the World Health Organization announced that wild polio has been eradicated — although there is a caveat.

Africa Is Declared Officially Free Of The Wild Poliovirus

4:08pm August 25, 2020

by Eyder Peralta

Health authorities have declared the African continent free of the wild poliovirus — no cases have been reported there in four years.

After shuttering bar districts early in the pandemic, Hong Kong reopened them in May. Some have been linked to new clusters of cases.

Health & Safety

Why The Coronavirus Is So 'Superspready'

11:43am August 25, 2020

by Pien Huang

That's the word that one disease researcher uses to describe COVID-19. And now scientists are discovering the reasons that this virus is readily transmitted at "superspreader events."

Health & Safety

Coronavirus Update: Convalescent Plasma Treatment And Risks Of Reinfection

4:00pm August 24, 2020

by Richard Harris

NPR takes a look at the effectiveness of convalescent plasma in treating COVID-19 and discusses a patient in Hong Kong who got infected with the coronavirus twice.

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Ros Jane walks with her child by the railway near her home in Manila. She became pregnant at age 16.

Health & Safety

PHOTOS: Why The Philippines Has So Many Teen Moms

5:51pm August 21, 2020

Each year, 1.2 million Filipina girls between the ages of 10 and 19 have a child. The government is trying to change things. But the pandemic has made matters worse.

A flight attendant adjusts protective glasses. There has been little documentation about COVID-19 transmission on planes.

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: So Do Lots Of People Get COVID-19 From Flying?

5:35pm August 21, 2020

by Pranav Baskar

A study released this week points to two passengers infected on a four-hour-plus flight. But there hasn't been a lot of documentation of transmission on planes. So how risky is flying?

A chart shows coronavirus cases in the European Union and the United Kingdom, from early this year through Wednesday.

Spain, France And Germany Report Most Coronavirus Cases Since Their Lockdowns

7:26pm August 19, 2020

by Bill Chappell

Three of Europe's most populous countries are seeing a second wave of COVID-19. And in many instances, young people are part of the rise in cases.