Western state governors and state health officials are now reviewing a finalized recommendation from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for how to prioritize future vaccination phases. The initial deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to Oregon, Washington state and Idaho are spoken for — at least well into next month. High-risk health care workers, Read More
The first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine should start arriving in Washington on Monday, with the first vaccinations of front line health care workers beginning as early as Tuesday. An upbeat Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that timeline at a rare Sunday news conference. Read More
Deaths from COVID-19 have jumped nearly 40% this week, and hospitals around the country are straining under their patient load. Here's what happened in the first week after Thanksgiving. Continue Reading Read More
Washington’s plan, devised by the state Department of Health, will be implemented by a 25-person Vaccine Planning and Coordination Team consisting of employees from within the department, sourcing from the Offices of Immunization and Child Profile, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Health Promotion and Education and others. Read More
As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from COVID-19. In the medical field, deaths above what you would normally expect are called "excess deaths." Read More
On Friday alone, there were 195,000 new confirmed cases of the virus and 1,878 deaths. The U.S. has been adding 1 million cases every six days. Continue Reading U.S. Passes 12 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases, Adding 2 Read More
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations one week before the holiday, advising that Americans be careful amid an explosion in the spread of the coronavirus. Continue Reading CDC Strongly Recommends Against Traveling Read More
Medical advances have reduced the infection fatality rate in the U.S. But experts warn that indoor gatherings, cold temperatures and pandemic fatigue augur dark months ahead. Continue Reading U.S. Reaches 250,000 COVID-19 Read More
Areas across the country are implementing preventive measures such as curfews. Some experts are questioning whether these minor changes will be enough to control the virus. Continue Reading Cities And States Are Imposing New Read More
An unreleased CDC review obtained by NPR shows that lab officials knew an early coronavirus test kit had a high failure rate. They decided not to recall it and sent it to the nation's labs anyway. Continue Reading CDC Report: Read More
Public health experts and officials don’t agree that giving up control is a foregone conclusion, instead warning that steps can and must be taken now to avoid the unnecessary loss of life. And no credible experts have suggested the pandemic will end the day after voting stops, despite suggestions from Trump, who himself has tested positive for the virus, that the media is Read More
Where are hospitals reaching capacity? Which metro areas are running out of beds? NPR has learned federal agencies collect and analyze this information in detail but don't share it with the public. Continue Reading Internal Read More
How the world’s greatest public health organization was brought to its knees by a virus, the president and the capitulation of its own leaders, causing damage that could last much longer than the coronavirus. Continue Reading Brought To Its Knees By A Pandemic Read More
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in July, "Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting." Read More
Door-to-door trick-or-treating and crowded costume parties are out, and haunted forests and outdoor movie nights are in. "If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised," the CDC says. Continue Reading CDC’s Halloween Read More
Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine that proves "safe and effective." It may not prevent infection in everyone who gets it, but it still could eventually stop the pandemic. Here's how. Continue Reading A COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Only 50% Read More
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked states to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October, according to a series of planning documents sent to public health officials last week. Continue Reading CDC Asks States To Plan For Potential Vaccine Read More
The new eviction ban is being enacted through the Centers for Disease Control. The goal is to stem the spread of the COVID outbreak, which the agency says in it's order, "presents a historic threat to public health." Continue Reading Read More
Although daily COVID-19 deaths have fallen somewhat in recent days, the number of infections has continued to rise in many places with no end in sight. Continue Reading 6 Million Coronavirus Infections Now Confirmed In Read More
Emily Miller was central in defending the FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, after he falsely said that blood plasma could lower the death rate from COVID-19 by more than a third. Continue Reading FDA Removes Top Spokesperson After Blood Plasma Read More
The agency now says contacts of people with COVID-19 don't necessarily need to get tested. Public health experts say less testing of potential carriers could lead to more spread of the disease. Continue Reading Experts Fear CDC’s Read More
In an interview with WebMD, CDC Director Robert Redfield warned of the dual threat of the coronavirus and flu season. He urged Americans to follow COVID-19 health guidance and get the flu vaccine. Continue Reading CDC Read More
After the Trump administration moved hospital COVID-19 data reporting to HHS, bypassing the CDC, the new data system has been rife with erratic updates and anomalies. Continue Reading COVID-19 Hospital Data System That Bypasses Read More
The flowchart-like documents released by the CDC ask businesses, schools and workplaces to first and foremost consider whether reopening is consistent with state and local stay-at-home orders. Continue Reading CDC Issues Tools To Guide Read More
The race is on. What will it take to develop, test and distribute a safe and effective vaccine? Continue Reading When Can We Expect A Coronavirus Vaccine (And Other Important Vaccine Questions)?Read More
Dr. Ali Khan, former director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the CDC, discusses what the U.S. needs to do to soften the impact of a second wave of COVID-19. Continue Reading Former CDC Official Read More
It's not just a fever and dry cough. For milder cases of COVID-19, the array of symptoms can include headaches, fatigue, loss of smell and even lesions on the feet known as "COVID toes." Continue Reading From Loss Of Smell To Read More
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other members of the coronavirus task force will testify before a GOP-led Senate committee next week but have been blocked from making similar appearances in the House so far. Continue Reading Dr. Read More
The U.S. also has more than 57,000 deaths, just months after the coronavirus was identified. Continue Reading U.S. Surpasses 1 Million Coronavirus CasesRead More
To safely reopen without risking new COVID-19 outbreaks, states need enough staffing to do the crucial work of contact tracing. We surveyed public health agencies to find out how much they have. Continue Reading NPR Asked All Read More
The Centers for Disease Control now recognizes chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell as symptoms of the disease. Continue Reading CDC Adds 6 Symptoms To Its COVID-19 ListRead More
Medical examiners are now screening for possible coronavirus connections in late January. Emerging evidence suggests it spread far earlier and more widely than initially believed. Continue Reading As States Reopen, Health Read More
It is starting to take more time for cases, hospitalizations and deaths to double in several states, indicating social distancing is working. Here's how to make sense of those numbers. Continue Reading Are We Flattening The Curve? Read More
The Trump administration announced Friday that the CDC is now recommending people consider wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Mayors in New York City and Los Angeles have already offered similar advice to citizens. Read More
As cases of the coronavirus have skyrocketed, there's new thinking about the benefits that masks could offer in slowing the spread. The CDC says it is now reviewing its policy and may be considering a recommendation to encourage broader use. Read More
What's behind the "14 days of self-quarantine" guidance after exposure to someone with COVID-19 or after travel from a place with a high number of cases? Think of yourself as a potential incubator. Continue Reading The Science Behind A Read More
According to Dr. Deborah Birx, the best computer models predict that between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 during the coming months, even if the country continues the strict social distancing measures that most states have adopted. Relaxing those restrictions would send the toll much higher. Read More
Trump had initially announced 15-day guidelines and said they would be reevaluated. The 15-day period was set to end Monday. Continue Reading President Trump Extends CDC Social Distancing Guidelines For 30 More DaysRead More
Even for people who are able to get tested (and there's still a big lag in testing ability in hot spots across the U.S.), there can be a frustratingly long wait for results — not just hours, but often days. Continue Reading Why It Takes So Long To Get Read More
Public health professionals are urging “social distancing” – basically, staying away from crowds and other peoples’ personal space – to curb the spread of the virus. Though the disease seems to hit the elderly and immunocompromised the hardest, even young and healthy people are strongly encouraged to practice social distancing. Why? Read More
Sen. Richard Burr issued a warning at a private event weeks ago to prepare for dire effects from the coronavirus, going further than his more public comments, according to a recording obtained by NPR. Continue Reading Senate Read More
In a largely unprecedented move for a public health crisis, President Trump is declaring a national emergency to free up as much as $50 billion in federal assistance to state and local governments overwhelmed by coronavirus, and to lower regulatory barriers to surge medical resources to areas that need them most. Read More
It's the first time the WHO has called an outbreak a pandemic since the H1N1 "swine flu" in 2009. Continue Reading Coronavirus: COVID-19 Is Now Officially A Pandemic, WHO SaysRead More
Many schools paused in-person classes after students or staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Others say the cancellations are a precaution. Continue Reading Colleges In Washington And Across U.S. Read More
A couple from the Tri Cities shares their experience with self-quarantine and offer advice. Continue Reading Tri-Cities Couple Share Their Experience With Self-QuarantineRead More
"We are contemplating some next steps, particularly to protect our vulnerable populations and our nursing homes and [the] like and we are looking to determine whether mandatory measures are required," Inslee said in an interview Sunday morning with CBS's "Face the Nation." Read More
As the number of cases in the U.S. continues to rise, so too do questions about how the virus spreads and how the average person can protect themselves. Health officials are simultaneously trying to understand the virus while improving they way they identify cases and contain those that are known — and encouraging people to just practice good hygiene (and to be cautious, Read More
President Trump and Congress Friday authorized a package of emergency funding to help and treat and slow the spread of COVID-19. About $950 million is designated for state and local response. Continue Reading Where That $8.3 Billion In U.S. Read More
As the death toll from the novel coronavirus continues to rise, many people who feel sick are naturally concerned they might have the infection. Until now, a coronavirus test has been difficult to get locally because of limited capacity and strict rules for who qualifies. However, both of those restrictions may relax soon. Read More
A patient in King County who tested positive for coronavirus has died, according to state and local public health officials. It's believed to be the first coronavirus death in the U.S. The news prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency. Read More