Global Health

"There are not yet enough vaccine doses in Europe to stop the third wave by vaccination alone," German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Friday. Here, a health care worker displays a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Stuttgart, Germany.

Not Enough Vaccine Doses In Europe To Stop A 3rd Wave, German Health Minister Says

12:10pm March 19, 2021

by Bill Chappell

German Health Minister Jens Spahn says he's in favor of acquiring Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, noting that new infections in Germany are rising at a "very clearly exponential rate."

A technician waits to collect vials containing vaccine after they pass through a machine that checks for bottling and vaccine substance deficiencies.

The World's Largest Vaccine Maker Took A Multimillion Dollar Pandemic Gamble

5:23pm March 18, 2021

by Lauren Frayer

NPR tours the factory of the world's largest vaccine maker: Serum Institute of India. It's manufacturing nearly 100 million doses a month of the Oxford-AstraZeneca formula and exporting them globally.

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Health & Safety

3 Women On Their Experiences Having Their First Children During A Pandemic

4:20pm March 18, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with three women about having their first child during a pandemic and what they've learned.

Brazil COVID-19 Cases Climb As Deaths Overwhelm Hospitals And Funeral Services

4:20pm March 18, 2021

by Philip Reeves

Brazil is experiencing an even more dire COVID-19 with more people now dying there every day than in the United States. Hospitals and funeral services have become overwhelmed as cases climb.

South Africa Is Emerging From The Pandemic After Being Hit Hard By Coronavirus

4:28pm March 17, 2021

by Eyder Peralta

South Africa has registered over 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 — one of the worst-affected countries in the world. Cases are now down, restrictions have eased and South Africans are looking forward.

Several European nations have suspended the administration of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine following reports of blood clotting in some patients.

Sweden, Venezuela Are Latest Countries To Question AstraZeneca Vaccine

11:01am March 16, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

Several other countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland moved to suspend injections of the vaccine this week.

Growth of coronavirus cases around the world (as of March 14)

Coronavirus World Map: We've Now Passed The 100 Million Mark For Infections

8:21am March 16, 2021

A map of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world. The respiratory disease has spread rapidly across six continents and has killed at least 2 million globally.

Bamboo rats are among the wild animals farmed for food in China and other parts of Asia. A member of the World Health Organization team investigating the coronavirus pandemic says its report will conclude that such animal farms are likely the place where

Health & Safety

WHO Points To Wildlife Farms In Southern China As Likely Source Of Pandemic

7:51pm March 15, 2021

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Peter Daszak of the investigative team sent to Wuhan says the farms were probably where the coronavirus first jumped from bats to another animal before infecting humans.

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Rohingya refugees at a work training center in Indonesia's Aceh province. Dr. Paul Spiegel of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Humanitarian Health is looking at the data that have been collected on refugees and other vulnerable populations. It's far

COVID-19 Data Miss A Lot Of People — Raising Questions

5:16pm March 15, 2021

by Suzette Lohmeyer

Dr. Paul Spiegel talks about the gaps — and raises the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to huge changes in humanitarian responses.

Even with some colleges canceling their midsemester breaks due to COVID-19, students from more than 200 schools are expected to visit Miami Beach during spring break, which runs until mid-April.

Planning A Spring Break? These 5 Tips Can Help Minimize Risk

1:31pm March 14, 2021

by Allison Aubrey

The CDC still advises against nonessential travel, but many infectious disease experts say a trip to the beach or a family vacation can be done pretty safely if you do it right.