covid-19 pandemic

WATCH: White House says Biden, Congressional Democrats making progress on infrastructure deal

By Associated Press

The event is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Merck says experimental pill cuts worst effects of COVID-19

By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press

Drugmaker Merck says its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus.

Yes, you can get a flu shot and a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time

By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press

Health experts are worried Americans might have vaccination fatigue, but they still want you to get your flu shot.

The U.S. ranks 48th in per capita vaccination. Political polarization is one reason why

By Laura Santhanam

Unease amid the nation's pandemic response and protracted budget wrangling in Congress may be costing President Joe Biden political capital he needs to advance his ambitious agenda, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.

A daily pill to treat COVID could be just months away, scientists say

By JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News

At least three promising antiviral treatments for COVID-19 are being tested in clinical trials, with results expected as soon as late fall or winter.

U.S. jobless claims tick up from near a pandemic low

By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press

The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market’s recovery, at least temporarily.

COVID has killed about as many Americans as estimated toll from 1918-19 flu

By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. And like the worldwide scourge of a century ago, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear.

How do mask mandate bans affect students with disabilities? 4 things to know

By Claire Raj, The Conversation

The Department of Education is investigating whether state bans on mask requirements in schools discriminate against students with disabilities.

Federal relief payments insulated families from economic disaster, Census finds

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press

The share of Americans living in poverty rose slightly as the COVID-19 pandemic shook the economy last year, but massive relief payments pumped out by Congress eased hardship for many.

For countries with few vaccine doses, fighting COVID-19 is ‘a race from behind’

By Laura Santhanam

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare wide disparities in health care between countries on issues like vaccines and raised calls for more resource-sharing to save lives.