Travel for this story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.Science’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation.A team of researchers in rural Maharashtra state visits houses to track the spread of COVID-19 in India.PHOTO: RAJA SENGUPTAAt a tiny rural hospital about 1 hour’s drive northeast of Pune, India, in early April, workers loaded an…
Long quarantines were a necessary tool to slow the COVID-19 pandemic during its first phases, but better and faster tests — plus vaccines — mean they can be scaled back considerably. Why it matters: Quick tests and regular surveillance methods that identify who is actually infectious can take the place of the two-week or longer…
We tend to think of COVID-19 as merely a respiratory disease, but the truth is that it can damage a number of vital systems in our body. That’s been made horrifyingly clear by the number of recovering patients who are known as “long-haulers” — people who no longer have virus in their bodies, but who have…
Home News (Image credit: Shutterstock) Warm temperatures and tropical climates may really help reduce the spread of COVID-9, a new study suggests.The study found that places with warm temperatures and long hours of sunlight — such as countries close to the equator and those experiencing summer — had a lower rate of COVID-19 cases, compared…
The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here. Don’t skip that second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, advises a 4/29/21 story by Tara Parker-Pope at The New York Times, even if you already have had COVID-19.…
Chicago sports fans are set to return to the United Center next month for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started, officials announced Thursday, among other loosened restrictions touted as the latest step toward a normal summer with more bustle and less isolation. The city also is relaxing its pandemic rules on indoor gatherings,…
A person wearing a protective suit stands next to an ambulance carrying a family member who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a crematorium in New Delhi, India April 24, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiIndia set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on…
Home News (Image credit: Shutterstock) A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel voted to recommend that the U.S. resume administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for people 18 years of age and older. This comes after an 11-day pause in administering the vaccine prompted by reports of extremely rare, but severe, blood…
The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here. The chances that you will get a “breakthrough” infection with SARS-CoV-2 despite being vaccinated more than two weeks ago (with both doses in the case of a two-dose COVID-19…
The U.S. is pumping out coronavirus vaccines by the millions, but the coronavirus isn’t slowing down.The big picture: This spring has seen a surge in vaccinations but almost no change in the coronavirus’ spread, leaving the U.S. with an outbreak that’s still too big.Where it stands: In the last week of February, the U.S. was…