Scientific dynamic duo aims to stop the next pandemic before it starts
Two scientists, one Nigerian and one American, created a cutting-edge surveillance network to catch the next emerging disease before it becomes a pandemic.
pandemic
Whatever happened to this cartoonist's grandmother in Wuhan? She's 16 going on 83!
In 2020, Laura Gao hoped to visit her birthplace, Wuhan, to see her grandparents. COVID caused her to cancel. How have grandpa and grandma fared? She says she's "walking backward" toward the sun.
Whatever happened to fly-in medical missions that got kayoed by the pandemic?
The COVID emergency brought widespread cancellations for short-term fly-ins to run clinics. Are the missions — praised for the help they provide and criticized for a colonialist mindset — coming back?
Coronavirus FAQ: Is it wiser to get a booster now or wait for the new fall booster?
Maybe it's not a full-blown summer surge but COVID numbers are ticking up. For those with concerns due to personal risk factors or the start of the school year, the booster question is top of mind.
A new clue to the reason some people come down with long COVID
Researchers have found a link between the FOXP4 gene and the occurrence of what's known as long COVID. The finding could lead to a better understanding of a condition that affects millions.
![Ambassador-at-Large John Nkengasong, who will lead the State Department's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, speaks to the press about the new agency. He told NPR that the pandemic "taught us three key lessons. We are collectively more connected than we thought. We are more vulnerable than we thought. And we have [vast] inequities" when it comes to disease threats.](https://wfdd-live.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/card/s3/images/story/A-new-US-agency-is-a-response-to-the-fact-that-nobody-was-ready-for-the-pandemic-1191883838-1691105472.jpg?h=92236464&itok=wcqi12gS)
A new U.S. agency is a response to the fact that nobody was ready for the pandemic
The Bureau of Global Health, Security and Diplomacy, housed in the State Department, will plan for the next pandemic. We interviewed its director, virologist and global health leader John Nkengasong.
A political gap in excess deaths widened after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, study says
After vaccines became widely available in 2021, "the excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters," Yale researchers say.
Are masks for the birds? We field reader queries about this new stage of the pandemic
The official emergency is over but COVID is still here. And that means ... lots of questions. We asked our readers what's on their mind and then called on experts for advice.
Humans traveled less during COVID restrictions. Animals traveled more
Animals being tracked by scientists tended to travel longer distances in the early months of the pandemic, when people stayed home. The wildlife also ventured closer to roads.
We asked, you answered: How do you feel about the end of the COVID-19 'emergency'
With the WHO and CDC lifting the COVID-19 pandemic "emergency," we asked readers what was on their minds at this inflection point. Their reflections run the gamut, and also reveal some clear themes.