Health

WATCH: 'Virus is not done with us,' CDC director says amid rise in variants

By Associated Press

Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the CDC is looking at data that COVID-19 cases have been increasing the past three days, but more time is needed to see if that is a blip or the start of a trend.

Labs can't tell you if you have a COVID variant, a problem for tracking and prevention

By Christina Jewett, JoNel Aleccia, Rachana Pradhan, Kaiser Health News

As experts race to get an approved test for COVID variants, officials are severely restricted from sharing information about the cases. That makes it harder to protect others.

WATCH: FDA committee endorses emergency use for Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

By Associated Press

If granted emergency use, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine would be the third available vaccine in the United States, but the first to require one dose rather than two.

Vaccination 'passports' may help reopen the world. They also may foster inequity

By Laurie Kellman, Associated Press

Governments say getting vaccinated and having proper documentation will smooth the way to travel, entertainment and other social gatherings in a post-pandemic world. But who stands to gain and who is at risk of being left behind?…

WATCH: House Democrats poised to pass $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package

By Alan Fram, Associated Press

The relief bill would provide millions of people with $1,400 direct payments. It contains billions of dollars for vaccines and COVID-19 testing, schools, state and local governments, the ailing restaurant and airline industries and emergency jobless benefits while providing tax…

As hospital numbers fall, fatigued staff get some relief

By Heather Hollingsworth, Todd Richmond, Associated Press

Now the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has dropped by 80,000 in six weeks, and 17 percent of the nation’s adult population has gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, providing some relief to front-line…

COVID vaccine websites violate disability laws, create inequity for the blind

By Lauren Weber, Hannah Recht, Kaiser Health News

Many COVID vaccination registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels violate disability rights laws, hindering the ability of blind people to sign up for a potentially lifesaving vaccine, a KHN investigation has found.

Feds OK'd export of millions of N95 masks even as U.S. workers needed more

By Christina Jewett, Kaiser Health News

In the hours before President Joe Biden was inaugurated, the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowed a Texas mask maker to ship the high-quality masks overseas.

Cold wreaks havoc on aging waterworks in the South

By Melinda Deslatte, Leah Willingham, Associated Press

Cities across Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi are still grappling with outages that crippled health care facilities and forced families to wait in line for potable water.

Medical oxygen scarce in Africa, Latin America amid virus

By Carley Petesch, Lori Hinnant, Associated Press

A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck nations in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths.