Africa is struggling with low vaccination rate
Ayesha Rascoe asks epidemiologist Saad Omer of the Yale Institute for Global Health about the challenges many poorer nations still face in their vaccination efforts.
Global Health
A mass COVID grave in Peru has left families bereft — and fighting for reburial
More than 400 people who died of COVID were secretly interred in a mass grave on the outskirts of the city of Iquitos. Families are demanding a proper burial for their loved ones.
Coronavirus FAQ: Help me with omicron vocab. What's immune evasion? Epistasis?
The emergence of this new variant of concern has brought a new vocabulary into daily news reports. We asked experts to help define the terms you're being bombarded with.
South Africa is seeing a 4th surge of COVID-19 that's being driven by omicron
South Africa's health ministry says the rate of infection is the highest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines vaccinated 7.6 million people in 3 days. Duterte demands even more
Hit hard by the pandemic, the Philippines has vaccination rates far lower than neighbors like Vietnam and Cambodia. Here's how the country is trying to up its numbers.
Scientists race to answer the question: Will vaccines protect us against omicron?
There's serious concern about the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron strain. But there's also reason to be hopeful — especially for those who've had a booster.
Germany is tightening its restrictions on people who haven't gotten a COVID vaccine
The German government is imposing tighter restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, and is planning legislation to make vaccination mandatory in early 2022.
Can travel bans prevent the spread of new variants?
NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dr. Saad Omer about the effectiveness of travel bans now that the omicron variant has been discovered in the United States.
The Philippines vaccinated more than 7.5 million people against COVID in 3 days
More than 7.5 million Filipinos got COVID vaccines in just three days this week — an impressive milestone in the country's battle against the pandemic.
Sending the right message about the omicron variant is tricky
Scientists may not know for a couple weeks yet how risky the new coronavirus variant will be to public health. But getting out front now about what is known helps dispel misinformation, they say.