Global Health

An update on the global COVID-19 vaccination effort

4:35pm April 27, 2022

The U.S. has pulled back funding for global vaccinations. Some countries — like Brazil — don't need the help. Vaccination rates remain low in other countries such as Iraq due to issues of mistrust.

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A child receives a polio vaccine in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 14, 2022.

Vaccine-derived polio is on the rise. A new vaccine aims to stop the spread

6:18pm April 26, 2022

by Ari Daniel

Countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia are counting more cases of vaccine-derived polio. One reason for this, say experts, is that vaccination efforts have lapsed during the pandemic.

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A Shanghai resident shares her views on the city's lockdown

4:26pm April 26, 2022

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with a former nanny from Shanghai about what life has been like since returning to the city during pandemic restrictions.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia and first elected female head of state in Africa, stands for a portrait on World Malaria Day in Washington, D.C. Sirleaf, now a leader for global health issues, jokes that this is an "Angela Merkel" p

Health & Safety

Malaria is making a comeback. Africa's 'Iron Lady' is out to stop it

6:43pm April 25, 2022

by Marc Silver

At 83, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected woman president, is "on the trail." She talks about malaria, her Nobel Peace Prize and the key for women in politics.

With lockdown fears looming, Beijing is testing millions for COVID

4:53pm April 25, 2022

by Emily Feng

Beijing says it will test all 3.6 million residents in its largest district after finding about four dozen COVID cases. Residents fear a city-wide lockdown is imminent.

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The pandemic inspired a cartoonist to explore their Wuhanese roots and queer identity

8:41am April 24, 2022

by Malaka Gharib

In the funny and heartfelt coming-of-age graphic memoir 'Messy Roots,' artist Laura Gao unpacks their relationship with their Asianness, queerness and their ever-changing home city of Wuhan.

Masks are just one protective measure for these airline passengers arriving in Shanghai from Paris.

The mask mandate is off for U.S. travelers. In other countries it's definitely on

6:05pm April 22, 2022

by Kamala Thiagarajan

In China, for example, not only are masks required on planes but gloves are recommended — and passengers are urged not to touch their face during the flight. Here's what you'll find around the globe.

After months of obstacles, a Gaza man reaches a hospital in the West Bank for surgery

4:29pm April 22, 2022

by Daniel Estrin

A Gaza man waited for more than two months before he got Israeli permission to leave Gaza for a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank.

Workers clean and disinfect the floor at the National Exhibition and Convention Center NECC, the largest makeshift hospital, in Shanghai. Many jobs in these temporary facilities are drawn from the pool of unemployed migrant workers.

Health & Safety

Migrant workers in China find new jobs — and precarious conditions — in COVID control

1:26pm April 20, 2022

by Emily Feng

China's economic downturn has left thousands of migrant workers unemployed. They're pivoting to work in COVID control — and have strong concerns about how they are being treated.

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Workers in protective gear register residents for COVID-19 testing in the Jingan district of western Shanghai, China, on April 1, 2022. Shanghai allowed 4 million more people out of their homes Wednesday as coronavirus rules that shut down China's largest

Shanghai eases COVID rules and allows 4 million more people out of their homes

2:59am April 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

An official says the virus is under control in some parts of the city. Meanwhile, the IMF cut its forecast of Chinese economic growth and warned the global flow of industrial goods might be disrupted.