Your Health

A walk through the streets of New York during the pandemic echoes the loneliness and isolation many Americans are feeling in their battle against a virus that has brought multiple traumas — with no end in sight.

Pandemic's Emotional Hammer Hits Hard

4:37pm September 02, 2020

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been profound, researchers find. Nearly 25% of Americans are depressed, particularly those who have low incomes and have lost a job or a loved one.

Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there's not much evidence, they say the science is on their side.

Making Gyms Safer: Why The Virus Is Less Likely To Spread There Than In A Bar

11:12am September 02, 2020

by Will Stone

Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there's not much evidence, they say the science is on their side.

'Disease tolerance' is the ability of an individual, due to a genetic predisposition or some aspect of behavior or lifestyle, to thrive despite being infected with an amount of pathogen that sickens others. It might play a role in asymptomatic coronavirus

Scientists Explore Why Some People Are Able To Live With An Infection Unscathed

6:00am August 29, 2020

by Emily Laber-Warren

What if your body could corral an infection instead of eliminating it? Immunologists who see this sort of "disease tolerance" in plants wonder what role it might play in asymptomatic human infections.

An urgent care worker wears personal protective equipment in drive-up testing for the coronavirus in the Los Angeles area. Leading public health scientists tell journalist Alexis Madrigal that widespread at-home testing could help contain the virus.

Health & Safety

'Radical' Coronavirus Testing Plan Could Offer A 'Return To Normal,' Journalist Says

8:34pm August 27, 2020

by Terry Gross

Atlantic journalist Alexis Madrigal says millions of at-home saliva tests for the coronavirus could be the key to a safe reopening — even if they are less accurate than the traditional PCR tests.

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Dr. Pierre Chanoine administers a COVID-19 swab test on a person outside the Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia in April. The group Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium offers testing at various locations to help address heath disparities in Africa

'Racial Inequality May Be As Deadly As COVID-19,' Analysis Finds

5:48pm August 27, 2020

by Maria Godoy

A century of U.S. statistics finds mortality rates and life expectancy were much worse for Black Americans during pre-pandemic years than they have been for white people during the COVID-19 crisis.

"Before the appendectomy, I was looking for property and homes to purchase, and that is pretty much completely off the table right now," says Shannon Harness, a veteran who was uninsured when he had two appendicitis-related surgeries in 2019. The bills am

Health & Safety

Veteran's Appendectomy Launches Excruciating, Months-Long Battle Over Bill

12:29pm August 25, 2020

by Elizabeth Lawrence

An uninsured Colorado man who had appendicitis owed $80,232 after two surgeries. After months of negotiating with the hospital, he still owes far more than most insurers would pay for the procedures.

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A drop-off at a day care last month in the Queens borough of New York City.

Day Care, Grandparent, Pod Or Nanny? How To Manage The Risks Of Pandemic Child Care

5:47pm August 21, 2020

by Katherine Harmon Courage

At least two-thirds of U.S. families are struggling to find safe and affordable child care as the pandemic rages on. NPR asked infectious disease experts to help sort the health risks of each option.

Beware of scammers. Legitimate contact tracers will never ask you for any sort of payment or seek other financial information or your Social Security number.

How To Tell A Real COVID-19 Contact Tracer's Call From A Scammer's

9:47am August 20, 2020

by Julie Appleby

A loved one's health could depend on the truth if you get a call from a real contact tracer about your exposure to the coronavirus. But beware impostors who ask you for payment or to click on a link.

Will Flu Be A Risk This Fall? Doctors Insist People Should Get The Flu Shot Anyway

4:04pm August 19, 2020

by Allison Aubrey

Vaccine manufacturers have increased the production of flu shots for this season. Experts say a combination of the coronavirus and seasonal flu could be a lethal mix.

Keeping your brain busy by volunteering, gardening, or learning a new language may help you cope with hard times now and in the future.

Health & Safety

Staying Strong During Lockdown Means Reaching Out — And Working Your Mind, Too

10:40am August 18, 2020

by April Fulton

Keeping your brain busy but relaxed by volunteering, gardening, or learning a new language, for example, can help you cope with hard times now and in the future, psychiatrists say.