Category: NPR

A federal advisory committee to the CDC votes Tuesday on guidelines for who should get COVID-19 vaccines first. The committee is expected to prioritize health care workers and nursing home residents.

Biotech company Moderna has new data reinforcing that its COVID-19 inoculation is safe and effective. The company is submitting an application to the FDA Monday requesting emergency use authorization.

Last spring, nurses and doctors traveled to New York and other COVID hot spots to help overwhelmed hospitals. But with the virus spreading everywhere, hospitals now have nowhere to turn for help.

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Jasmyne Aseff, a travelling ICU nurse, about what it’s been like fighting the pandemic, from the initial outbreak in New York City to her current position in Missouri.

Health workers and hospitals already strained by the pandemic are increasingly making direct appeals to the public with open letters, asking people to mask up and stay at home this holiday season.

Hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they’re having to resort to workarounds to treat them all. Experts warn this may hamper doctors’ ability to save lives.

Hospitals are figuring out how to administer drugs that are designed to treat people with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The drugs are in short supply, and there is no guarantee they will work.

It was a surprise even for a family of lawyers. A process called “subrogation” began with a Nevada family’s health insurer denying their claim for an ER visit after their 9-year-old fell off his bike.

Operation Warp Speed is allocating the first batch of 6.4 million COVID vaccines to states, based on population. This circumvents a CDC advisory committee, which proposed allocation based on risk.

Nurses and doctors across the U.S. pitched in when New York City was overwhelmed with the coronavirus. Now with the pandemic simmering coast to coast, hospitals can’t count on reinforcements.