Your Health

Writer and Anthropologist Laurel Braitman speaks from the TED stage.

Health & Safety

Laurel Braitman: From Healthcare Workers To The Rest Of Us — How Can We Better Cope?

10:37am July 31, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

Healthcare jobs are already stressful. Add a pandemic ... and ongoing police brutality? And it's a lot. We hear from physicians of color and TED Fellow Laurel Braitman about taking care of ourselves.

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People wait in line outside a testing site in Florida. The state has seen unprecedented surges in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

Pandemic Is Overwhelming U.S. Public Health Capacity In Many States. What Now?

3:03pm July 28, 2020

by Rob Stein

With the coronavirus spreading out of control in many parts of the U.S., some experts say the strategy of testing and tracing can't contain the pandemic until lockdowns bring case numbers down.

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Public health officials advise social distancing strategies and masks, in part because the latest evidence suggests that catching the coronavirus, even if you're young, is risky business. A significant portion of COVID-19 survivors suffer fatigue, blood c

Without A Vaccine, Researchers Say, Herd Immunity May Never Be Achieved

7:33am July 24, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

A growing number of researchers think until there's an effective vaccine, the coronavirus will simply persist in the population, causing illness indefinitely. Better to squelch the spread instead.

Researchers have been investigating how long antibodies to the coronavirus last in people who have recovered from infections.

How Long Will Immunity To The Coronavirus Last?

4:06pm July 23, 2020

by Richard Harris

Recent studies have raised fears that immunity to the coronavirus might be fleeting, thus making potential vaccines ineffective. The reality of the science is more complex — and more reassuring.

Izzy Benasso injured her knee while playing tennis with her father Steve Benasso in Denver. After the college student had knee surgery to repair the injury, her dad noticed her medical bills included a separate one from a surgical assistant for $1,167.

The Knee Surgeon Was In-Network. The Surgical Assistant Wasn't, And Billed $1,167

6:46pm July 22, 2020

by Markian Hawryluk

A college student's bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn't even know was in the operating room.

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Health & Safety

Growing Body Of Evidence Suggests Masks Protect Those Wearing Them, Too

5:55pm July 20, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, about growing evidence that masks help lower the severity of the coronavirus for those who wear them.

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Research suggests that kids tend to get infected with the coronavirus less often, and have milder symptoms than adults. There's less consensus on how much kids can spread the illness.

Kids Get Coronavirus, But Do They Spread It? We'll Find Out When Schools Reopen

12:42pm July 20, 2020

by Allison Aubrey

Studies show children have lower rates of COVID-19 and have milder symptoms than adults. But there's less information on how much kids spread the coronavirus, which is key to safely reopen schools.

The Jernigan-Noesi family, the Roper Nedd family, and the Ford family talk about the conversations they're having with their kids about racism, social justice, and having hope for the future.

'Change Can Happen': Black Families On Racism, Hope And Parenting

8:15am July 19, 2020

by Patti Neighmond

In wake of George Floyd's killing and the Black Lives Matter protests, conversations about race in America have a new urgency. Here's how Black parents are having 'the talk' with their children today.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, new suppliers have jumped into the market for surgical masks. Some have touted FDA certificates that don't have any regulatory meaning.

Health & Safety

'Meaningless' FDA Certificates Are Used To Tout Dubious Face Masks

4:14pm July 16, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Companies that made hats, socks and teddy bears have started producing surgical masks to protect people from COVID-19. Some sellers exaggerate their standing with the Food and Drug Administration.

Though the pandemic has left us all less able to socialize in person with our close friends and community, we're still finding ways to use screens and other methods to connect and maintain relationships, research suggests.

Loneliness Hasn't Increased Despite Pandemic, Research Finds. What Helped?

8:22pm July 15, 2020

by Joanne Silberner

Though anxiety has increased in the U.S. in recent months, a drastic spike in loneliness that psychologists expected hasn't emerged. People seem to be finding new ways to connect, researchers say.