Health

Don’t Worry, It’s Not COVID

Some tips for how to be a good sick person in the COVID era, whatever is ailing you

This Fall Will Be a Vaccination Reboot

For the first time, COVID vaccines are getting an update in the U.S. But Americans still need to be persuaded to take them.

America Is Sliding Into the Long Pandemic Defeat

In the face of government inaction, the country’s best chance at keeping the crisis from spiraling relies on everyone to keep caring.

Five COVID Numbers That Don’t Make Sense Anymore

It’s long past time to forget them all.

Squirrels Could Make Monkeypox a Forever Problem

If the virus finds a new animal host, it could settle in for the long run—and cause more outbreaks in the future.

I Got Stuck in the Yellowstone Floods

The torrent of rainfall that devoured roads and swept away bridges on Monday was supposedly a “1,000-year event.” But what does that even mean these days?

Long COVID Could Be a ‘Mass Deterioration Event’

A tidal wave of chronic illness could leave millions of people incrementally worse off.

Monkeypox Vaccines Are Too Gnarly for the Masses

Monkeypox is very different from COVID—and will require a very different vaccination approach.

A Negative COVID Test Has Never Been So Meaningless

A string of negatives can still presage a clear-as-day positive.

Monkeypox Could Be Nothing—Or It Could Be the Next Syphilis

Three possible paths the virus could take in the United States

Vaccines for the Littlest Kids Have Already Flopped

COVID vaccines for infants and toddlers are stalling and stumbling even before they’ve left the gate.

Don’t Wait to Get Your Kid Vaccinated

Kids are at risk of severe COVID outcomes—and immunity from infection isn’t enough.

Why This COVID Wave Feels Different

In the winter, cases shot up and plummeted with unprecedented speed. But something else is going on with this surge.

We Got COVID Shots in One Year. Why Did a Malaria Vaccine Take 35?

The long, maddening wait reveals much about the world’s vaccine priorities.

The Sit-Up Is Over

It used to dominate American fitness practice. Now it’s all but over.

You Are Going to Get COVID Again … And Again … And Again

Will the danger mount each time, or will it fade away?

Rebound COVID Is Just the Start of Paxlovid’s Mysteries

There’s plenty more to learn about the lifesaving antiviral COVID treatment.  

An ER Doctor’s ‘Third Way’ Approach to the Gun Crisis

Why violence demands not just policy solutions, but public-health ones

Vaccines Are Still Mostly Blocking Severe Disease

Our original-recipe shots are holding up against new variants. But we may need to improve them, and soon.

How the End of Roe Would Change Prenatal Care

Genetic testing is a routine part of pregnancy. Abortion restrictions are already shifting how doctors talk about the results.