Global Health

Air pollution in northern India is causing partial lockdowns in New Delhi

4:52pm November 16, 2021

by Lauren Frayer

India's capital is under partial lockdown because of a health emergency. But it's not COVID-19. It's air pollution that has exceeded four times what's safe.

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Pfizer's agreement with a U.N. group to let other companies produce its new antiviral pill as a generic drug is meeting with a mixed reaction. In late summer, protesters at Pfizer's world headquarters in New York urged the drugmaker to broadly share the p

Pfizer agrees to license generic versions of its COVID-19 pill — in some countries

3:11pm November 16, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The agreement covers 95 nations, but it omits hard-hit countries such as Russia, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico. Pfizer said it is seeking authorization for emergency use of the medication in the U.S.

Health & Safety

As COVID-19 cases surge, Austria orders a lockdown of the unvaccinated

6:03am November 15, 2021

Austria is moving to put millions of unvaccinated citizens under lockdown as European countries take measures to try to control a new surge in COVID-19 infections.

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A nurse in the burn unit of the hospital in Afghanistan's Herat province prepares a topical ointment used to treat and prevent infections in burn patients.

Health & Safety

A surgeon who helps burned Afghan women is now in hiding, afraid for her life

7:56am November 13, 2021

by Ruchi Kumar

The doctor specializes in treating women attacked by a spouse or who self-immolate in desperation. Now she faces threats from Taliban commanders and the husbands of those she's helped.

Conceptual paper illustration of human hands and coronavirus in a lab.

New clues to the biology of long COVID are starting to emerge

7:16pm November 12, 2021

by Rob Stein

Scientists have begun to find abnormalities in the immune systems of some long-COVID patients that might help explain the syndrome, at least in some people. But there is still much more to learn.

Nurse Sandra Lindsay celebrates after receiving her COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine booster at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York in Oct. 6. Lindsay was the first person known to receive a COVID vaccine in the United States vaccination campaign — on

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: I just got a booster. Can I ... go crazy?

4:02pm November 12, 2021

by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

Does a booster shot mean that you can go back to ... normal? Or is there still a newish kind of normal to face?

A livestreamed panel discussion involving Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and NPR will include updates on COVID-19 vaccines for children, as well as other pressing issues affecting the course of the pandemic.

Health & Safety

WATCH: Harvard-NPR panel on the fight to tame COVID

2:09pm November 12, 2021

by Scott Hensley

Watch an expert panel discuss the latest developments and challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic livestreamed at noon ET on Friday.

How $6 billion from Elon Musk could feed millions on the brink of famine

8:11pm November 11, 2021

by Joanne Lu

Elon Musk reportedly made $36 billion in a single day. What if he gave a sixth of that to the World Food Programme? We ask researchers how much of a change $6 billion could bring.

With COVID case rates in Europe rising, some countries are bringing back restrictions

4:31pm November 11, 2021

by Eleanor Beardsley

After reducing or eliminating COVID restrictions as more people became vaccinated, many European countries are being forced to reverse course, as infections increase across the continent.

A graphic showing projected increasing vaccine stockpile.

Why low income countries are so short on COVID vaccines. Hint: It's not boosters

7:11pm November 10, 2021

by Nurith Aizenman

Wealthy countries keep buying way more doses than they need. New data shows just how much the stockpile of unused vaccine is growing.

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