Coronavirus: COVID-19

A New Understanding of Herd Immunity

The portion of the population that needs to get sick is not fixed. We can change it.

• James Hamblin
• July 13, 2020

The Deep South’s Only Democratic Senator Still Has Hope

The Alabama Democrat Doug Jones discusses the coronavirus outbreak in the South, new efforts to grapple with the region’s Confederate legacy, and his hopes that this time of crisis leads to systemic change.

• Edward-Isaac Dovere
• July 11, 2020

The Tragic Loss of Coronavirus Patients’ Final Words

It takes a special kind of inattention to human suffering to not notice how unfortunate it is that people have been left to face death alone.

• Zeynep Tufekci
• July 9, 2020

This Isn’t Sustainable for Working Parents

The pandemic has already taken a toll on the careers of those with young children—particularly mothers.

• Joe Pinsker
• July 9, 2020

How a History Textbook Would Describe 2020 So Far

A historian imagines the chapter high schoolers might read one day about this momentous time.

• James West Davidson
• July 9, 2020

Artificial Lights Tell the Story of the Pandemic

Satellite views of Earth at night reveal the distinct imprint of humankind’s response to a fast-spreading virus.

• Marina Koren
• July 8, 2020

This Is Not a Normal Mental-Health Disaster

If SARS is any lesson, the psychological effects of the novel coronavirus will long outlast the pandemic itself.

• Jacob Stern
• July 7, 2020

Listen: The Stock Market is... Up?

Why Wall Street's doing great while everything else isn’t

• July 7, 2020

The Pandemic Experts Are Not Okay

Many American public-health specialists are at risk of burning out as the coronavirus surges back.

• Ed Yong
• July 7, 2020

Listen: How the Coronavirus Affects Kids

The latest on a mysterious syndrome hitting kids—and what it means for schools

• July 6, 2020

The U.S. Is Repeating Its Deadliest Pandemic Mistake

More than 40 percent of all coronavirus deaths in America have been in nursing homes. Here’s how it got so bad, and why there might still be more to come as cases surge in the Sun Belt.

• Olga Khazan
• July 6, 2020

Reopening Schools Was Just an Afterthought

Americans found out the hard way that education is essential infrastructure.

• Juliette Kayyem
• July 6, 2020

Our Minds Aren’t Equipped for This Kind of Reopening

As states ease restrictions on businesses, individuals face a psychological morass.

• Tess Wilkinson-Ryan
• July 6, 2020

Listen: Why the World Can’t Reopen If Schools Can’t

A case for universal child care

• July 4, 2020

The New Boomerang Kids Could Change American Views of Living at Home

Moving in with your parents is often seen as a mark of irresponsibility. The pandemic might show the country that it shouldn’t be.

• Joe Pinsker
• July 3, 2020

Paging Dr. Hamblin: Are Kids Really Spared From the Coronavirus?

Some children are having a delayed immune reaction after getting infected. The extent of the condition is just coming into view.

• James Hamblin
• July 1, 2020

A Dire Warning From COVID-19 Test Providers

U.S. coronavirus testing could fail again, as surging demand creates new backlogs and delays.

• Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer
• June 30, 2020

Don’t Build Roads, Open Schools

The idea of child care as women’s (unpaid) work holds the issue back in political discussions.

• Helen Lewis
• June 30, 2020

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should

As states and cities waffle on pandemic restrictions, public health has become individuals’ responsibility.

• Julie Beck
• June 30, 2020

Listen: How Is College Going to Work?

The good and bad plans for reopening higher education

• June 30, 2020