pandemic

Health & Safety

Oxfam says the rich got richer in the pandemic, and the wealth gap is killing the poor

4:55pm February 08, 2022

by Joanne Lu

The poverty-fighting charity points to unprecedented new wealth accrued by the ultra-rich — and asserts that the result of the world's growing inequality is "economic violence" for the impoverished.

SARS-CoV-2 is shown in this colorized transmission electron micrograph. This specimen was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Particles of the virus are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab.

Health & Safety

The future of the pandemic is looking clearer as we learn more about infection

12:27pm February 07, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Scientists are beginning to come up with answers to the question of how long antibodies from an infection can protect you — and what they'll protect you from.

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Antibody tests are becoming more available at drugstores, but what do the results really tell you? Above: A Paris pharmacist deposits a blood sample for a COVID-19 antibody test.

Coronavirus FAQ: My drugstore now offers antibody tests. Is it worth getting one?

4:35pm February 04, 2022

by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

Antibody tests may be coming soon to a pharmacy near you. Here's what the tests reveal — and don't reveal — about you and COVID-19.

A Cuban industrial complex prepares to start production of one of the country's newly developed COVID vaccines.

A small island nation has cooked up not 1, not 2 but 5 COVID vaccines. It's Cuba!

7:22pm February 01, 2022

by Jason Beaubien

Cuba has one of the world's highest COVID vaccination rates, with more than 85% of the nation fully immunized and kids as young as 2 getting inoculated. And it's done so using homegrown vaccines.

A Hong Kong hamster that evaded the cull.

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: Are pets a threat? My immunocompromised pal had COVID. Can I visit?

7:22pm January 28, 2022

by Marc Silver

Hong Kong's hamster cull has people wondering if they can catch SARS-CoV-2 from a pet. And here's a human dilemma: It is risky to visit an immunocompromised individual who recently had COVID?

A student washes her hands before entering a classroom at a school in Blantyre, Malawi, in March 2021. Top scientists say that many African countries, including Malawi, appear to have already arrived at a substantially less threatening stage of the corona

Health & Safety

Africa may have reached the pandemic's holy grail

6:23pm January 28, 2022

by Nurith Aizenman

New findings from Malawi suggest the country has entered something akin to the endemic stage of the pandemic — along with many other African nations.

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Books
Arts

Strap in for highs and lows with the pandemic novel 'How High We Go in the Dark'

5:01am January 28, 2022

by Natalie Zutter

One character is an aimless young man works at a euthanasia theme park for terminally ill kids, placing them on the roller coaster that will kill them before the plague does. It is a book about death.

Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu is the head of the World Health Organization's newly created Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. "We have to get better at convincing leaders to use the data we provide and not their political instinct or whatever else their d

This Nigerian doctor has a tough new job: Stopping the next pandemic before it strikes

7:45am January 27, 2022

by Joanne Silberner

The World Health Organization has created a Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who heads the group, talks about the challenges that lie ahead.

In this photo taken on Jan. 20, a beach resort in Tonga, on the outskirts of the capital of Nuku'alofa, shows the impact of the tsunami that hit the island nation in the wake of an underwater volcanic eruption. Aid efforts have been complicated by the pan

Why Tonga is opting for 'contactless' humanitarian aid

8:53am January 23, 2022

by Ashley Westerman

It's a pandemic predicament. With only 1 recorded case of COVID-19 in their island nation, Tongans are desperate for help after the volcanic eruption — but eager to keep the virus out.

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The Yanqing Winter Olympic Village in Beijing is just one of the many "closed loop" locations that will isolate athletes, staff and the limited number of spectators.

China's Olympics aim to keep COVID at bay with armpit sensors, robots and more

3:49pm January 22, 2022

Athletes and other attendees will be in a closed "loop" with strict rules about everything from daily testing for athletes to how spectators should respond — no cheering out loud, please!

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