Global Health

President Biden speaks to media as he arrives on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Sunday after returning from Nantucket, Mass., after spending the Thanksgiving holiday there.

Omicron variant spreads to North America, Australia and more of Europe

6:49pm November 28, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

President Biden received a briefing from his medical task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said that "inevitably" the omicron variant will turn up in the U.S.

Health & Safety

As new COVID-19 variant spreads, human rights lawyer points to 'vaccine apartheid'

4:50pm November 28, 2021

NPR's David Folkenflik talks with Fatima Hassan, founder and director of the Health Justice Initiative in South Africa, about the omicron variant and inequity in the global vaccination campaign.

Following the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant, the United Kingdom imposed new restrictions on arriving travelers from South Africa and other southern African countries. The U.S. is implementing similar restrictions starting Monday.

Fauci says the omicron variant will inevitably appear in the U.S.

1:27pm November 28, 2021

by Wynne Davis

The omicron variant has not been detected in the U.S., but Dr. Anthony Fauci says it is certain to be at some point. Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins appealed for people to get vaccinated as a defense.

On November 29, the World Health Organization will convene a virtual summit for its member states to consider the handling of future outbreaks. Pictured above: WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WHO is seeking a new treaty on handling future pandemics. It could be a hard sell

11:07am November 28, 2021

by Jason Beaubien

At a special session this week, the World Health Organization hopes to start sketching out a new world order. "We don't have rules of the game," says WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Queue Listen Now

Raymond Portelli, priest and doctor, in his office in the San Martin de Porres church in Iquitos, Peru. In the early days of the pandemic, he says he wasn't too worried about this new coronavirus. But his early optimism would quickly evaporate.

Health & Safety

Peru has the world's highest COVID death rate. Here's why

11:48am November 27, 2021

by Jason Beaubien

An isolated city on the Amazon illustrates why Peru has the highest COVID death rate in the world. One infectious disease expert called the country's awful record the result of a "perfect storm."

A resident from the Alexandra township gets tested for the coronavirus in 2020. A new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in the

What to know about omicron, the new COVID variant

10:06pm November 26, 2021

by Nicole Hernandez

The World Health Organization deemed it a variant of concern, and the U.S. is banning travel from parts of Africa where it's spreading. Here's what scientists know and what they're trying to learn.

WHO is trying to start outlining international rules for COVID outbreaks

5:09pm November 26, 2021

by Jason Beaubien

Representatives from 194 countries will start negotiations on a possible new pandemic treaty. Officials say a lack of clarity on countries' obligations has hindered the response to COVID.

Dr. Francis Collins on what we know about the Omicron variant so far

4:56pm November 26, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins about how the new COVID-19 variant might affect U.S. response and where the national strategy goes from here.

New coronavirus variant omicron is classified as a 'variant of concern'

4:24pm November 26, 2021

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A variant now named omicron, first detected in South Africa, prompted new overseas travel restrictions in Europe and a special World Health Organization meeting on Friday.

Queue Listen Now

James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in No Time To Die. A scientific review of Bond's decades of international adventures concludes that the famous secret agent has consistently neglected critical tr

Health & Safety

James Bond has all those gadgets but no hand sanitizer. Avoid these 007 travel habits

5:00am November 25, 2021

by Miriam E. Tucker

Now that travel is picking up again, research on the fictional spy's travel practice provides helpful reminders to would-be adventurers about what not to do if you're contemplating a trip.