Katherine J. Wu
She holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Harvard University. Before joining The Atlantic in 2021, she was a science and health reporter for The New York Times focused on COVID-19. In 2020, she won the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists. At The Atlantic, she covers science.
Your Vaccinated Immune System Is Ready for Breakthroughs
Getting COVID-19 when you’re vaccinated isn’t the same as getting COVID-19 when you’re unvaccinated.
-
![]()
Jaime Culebras / Photo Wildlife Tours The Freeloading Boyfriends That Just Won’t Let Go
Male Santa Marta harlequin toads piggyback on their mate for months before egg meets sperm.
-
![]()
Leo Correa / Redux The Pandemic After the Pandemic
Long COVID isn’t going away, and we still do not have a way to fully prevent it, cure it, or really to quantify it.
-
![]()
Getty; The Atlantic The Coronavirus’s Next Move
Here are four shapes that the next variant might take—which will also dictate the shape of our response.
-
![]()
Christopher Furlong / Getty The Biden Administration Killed America’s Collective Pandemic Approach
Protections meant to shield everyone can’t be a matter of personal preference.
-
![]()
Paul Spella / The Atlantic Next Winter, What If We Test for Even More Viruses?
Cough? Test. Stuffiness? Test. Scratchy throat? Test.
-
![]()
The Atlantic We Might Not Need Annual COVID Shots
The vaccines will need an update at some point. But not every variant of concern will warrant one.
-
![]()
Adam Maida / The Atlantic We’re Entering the Control Phase of the Pandemic
The virus isn’t done with us. So we need a new approach to dealing with it.
-
![]()
Bing Guan / Bloomberg / Getty How to Reclaim Normal Life Without Being ‘Done’
This next phase of the pandemic doesn’t have to be about what we can’t do.
-
![]()
The Atlantic The Paradox of Sour Food
“It’s a weird sense to need.”
-
![]()
Santiago Mejia / The San Francisco Chronicle / … What Actually Changed for Little Kids’ Vaccines?
Authorizing two shots for little kids right now could be a double gamble.
-
![]()
The Atlantic Should We Go All In on Omicron Vaccines?
A shot designed for Omicron can teach the immune system about Omicron. But it might not prepare us for whatever comes next.
-
![]()
Getty; The Atlantic Endemicity Is Meaningless
The coronavirus will be with us forever. But we still have no idea what happens next.
-
![]()
The Atlantic Omicron Is Driving Delta Into the Ground
But the older variant isn’t quite dead yet.
-
![]()
Scott Olson / Getty Why a Three-Dose Vaccine for Young Kids Might Actually Work Out
We still don’t know when exactly the shots are coming, but there’s reason to hope that vaccine makers’ current plans are on the right track.
-
![]()
Getty; The Atlantic Will Omicron Leave Most of Us Immune?
The variant is spreading widely, but won’t necessarily give us strong protection from new infections.
-
![]()
The Atlantic The Worst of the Omicron Wave Could Still Be Coming
A long descent from a peak in cases could exact a larger toll than even Omicron’s blistering ascent.
-
![]()
The Atlantic Calling Omicron ‘Mild’ Is Wishful Thinking
We are far past the point of hoping that this variant will spare us.
-
![]()
Lambert / Lambert / Getty COVID Isolation Is a Lot Like … Muffin Baking
Stay with me.
-
![]()
Getty; The Atlantic America’s COVID Rules Are a Dumpster Fire
If you’re confused by the CDC’s new isolation guidelines, you’re not the only one.
-
![]()
Jon Challicom / Getty Should I Just Get Omicron Over With?
If you’re vaccinated, an infection might not make you super sick, but don’t count on it making you super immune, either.
/media/img/mt/2022/01/image_1-3/original.png)
/media/img/mt/2022/01/image/original.png)
