health care

Health Care Workers Ask Therapist: 'Why Aren't More People Taking This Seriously?'

6:51pm October 20, 2020

The pandemic continues to exact a heavy emotional toll on health care workers, says Kimberly Johnson, who provides them with free therapy. "I wish people knew ... what I saw," clients tell her.

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COVID-19 mortality rates are going down, according to studies of two large hospital systems, partly thanks to improvements in treatment. Here, clinicians care for a patient in July at an El Centro, Calif., hospital.

Health & Safety

Studies Point To Big Drop In COVID-19 Death Rates

5:56pm October 20, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

More hospitalized patients are surviving than early in the pandemic. Improved treatments make a big difference, but so does flattening the curve to keep hospitals from overfilling, researchers say.

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Mental health advocates say 988, a simple three-digit number, will be easier for people to remember in the midst of a mental health emergency.

New Law Creates 988 Hotline For Mental Health Emergencies

2:54pm October 20, 2020

by Rhitu Chatterjee

President Trump has signed a bipartisan bill creating a three-digit hotline for mental health emergencies. Mental health advocates say it'll bring mental health crisis response into the 21st century.

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Coronavirus Test Results Are Still Taking Too Long, A Survey Shows

3:58pm October 19, 2020

by Rob Stein

Coronavirus test results are coming back faster but still taking too long to help fight the pandemic effectively, a national survey shows.

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People wait in the shade while in line to get coronavirus tests in Revere, Mass.

Coronavirus Test Results Get Faster, But Still Too Slow To Help Slow Disease Spread

10:54am October 19, 2020

by Rob Stein

The average wait time for results has dropped to about three days, but that is still too slow to keep infected people from unknowingly spreading the virus, researchers report.

Doctor On Wisconsin Hospital Preparation Amid Coronavirus Surge

4:59pm October 16, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control and protection at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, about a spike in coronavirus cases in Wisconsin.

While coronavirus vaccine trials are ongoing and a U.S. vaccine has yet to be approved, state health officials are planning ahead for how to eventually immunize a large swath of the population.

Facing Many Unknowns, States Rush To Plan Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines

1:03pm October 16, 2020

A vaccine will only work if a lot of people can get immunized. State health officials are working furiously to design outreach and distribution plans, with little clarity from the federal government.

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Doctors' Unconscious Bias Affects Quality Of Health Care Services, Research Shows

4:08pm October 15, 2020

by April Dembosky

Research shows that doctors' unconscious bias can hurt patients of color. Some hospitals are trying to train doctors and stop disparate treatment.

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Map of which states meet contact tracing needs

COVID-19 Contact Tracing Workforce Barely 'Inching Up' As Cases Surge

6:59pm October 14, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The number of people working to stop COVID-19 outbreaks from spreading is far from the level needed in most states, according to a new NPR survey and analysis. Find out how your state is doing.

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The phase 3 trial of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused as the company investigates what it says is a study participant's "unexplained illness."

Health & Safety

Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly Pause COVID-19 Drug Trials

6:38pm October 13, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The move by Eli Lilly came less than 24 hours after Johnson & Johnson paused further dosing in all of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials while it investigated a volunteer's illness.