Medical Treatments

A kidney dish with syringes containing the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine sits in a refrigerator ready for use in February at a vaccination center in Prisdorf, Germany.

Health & Safety

The CDC endorses Novavax, a more traditional COVID vaccine, for adults

8:34pm July 19, 2022

by The Associated Press

Adults who haven't gotten any COVID-19 shots should consider the new option, the agency said Tuesday. The spike protein vaccine is more typical than the mRNA types being broadly used against COVID.

Ivermectin has developed an enormous following over the course of the pandemic – in part because of a small cadre of fringe doctors who promote it as an alternative to COVID vaccines, despite early studies which didn't support it as a treatment.

Health & Safety

Doubting mainstream medicine, COVID patients find dangerous advice and pills online

8:41am July 19, 2022

by Geoff Brumfiel

A 75-year-old woman became enmeshed in conspiracy theories about COVID. After she got infected, she rejected effective treatments and sought out black market drugs instead.

Monkeypox treatments are difficult to get despite the nation's large stockpile

5:12pm July 18, 2022

by Pien Huang

There are enough antiviral pills in the nation's strategic stockpile to treat 1.7 million people with monkeypox. But doctors, patients and advocates say getting the treatment is very hard.

NYC health commissioner on the city's response to the monkeypox outbreak

4:42pm July 14, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with New York City's health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, about the city's response to the monkeypox outbreak.

The troubles that NYC has had in rolling out the monkeypox vaccine

4:35pm July 13, 2022

by Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilenski

New York is one of the states with the highest number of monkeypox cases. But New York City's health department has faced ongoing problems in their vaccination rollout against it.

A company is seeking FDA approval for the 1st nonprescription birth control

4:22pm July 13, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

A Paris-based company has asked the FDA to approve an over-the-counter birth control pill. The push to ease access to birth control has become more pressing as states move to restrict or ban abortion.

Queue Listen Now

Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, can also be prescribed for other medical uses. However some pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions for them.

Health & Safety

Pharmacies may violate civil rights if they refuse meds linked to abortion, feds warn

4:13pm July 13, 2022

by Carrie Feibel

Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for medications used for abortion could be violating civil rights law. The meds are also used to treat miscarriages, arthritis and ulcers.

As wealthy nations push 4th booster shots, Africa is being left behind

4:29pm July 12, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, about the ongoing challenges of addressing COVID-19.

Worried about future access to abortion, more women are asking to get their "tubes tied," doctors say. But there are a lot of barriers to actually getting this procedure.

Why this key chance to getting permanent birth control is often missed

11:24am July 12, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Doctors say they're seeing a surge in the number of women who want their "tubes tied." But hospital capacity, paperwork, religion and personal opinion are just some of the reasons requests get denied.

Queue Listen Now

Fertility treatments could be in jeopardy in anti-abortion states, IVF patients fear

4:24pm July 11, 2022

by Michelle Jokisch Polo

Some who are struggling to conceive worry that the battle over abortion could put fertility treatments like IVF in jeopardy. The argument that life begins at conception could restrict such processes.