We Can’t Hide in Our Bubble of Immunity Forever
As Americans abandon masks, the world is suffering around them.
Aleksandar Zdravkovic / Tetra Images / Getty / The Atlantic
The Doctors Who Bet Their Patients’ Lives on COVID-19 Test Results
Those waiting for an organ transplant are at risk of contracting the coronavirus whether they choose to avoid the health-care system or to interact with it.
The J&J Rescue Mission Starts With a Choice
The reputation of all COVID-19 vaccines hinges on improving perceptions of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
The Era of Mass Vaccinations Is Ending
To reach the remaining holdouts, America’s approach to vaccine distribution is going hyperlocal.
Germany’s Anti-vaccination History Is Riddled With Anti-Semitism
Jewish people were blamed for spreading disease, and considered expendable victims.
A Year Without Germs
Months of exuberant hand-sanitizing and social isolation during the pandemic have changed our exposure to microbes, in ways good and bad.
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Post-vaccination Inertia Is Real
Readjusting our ideas about what’s safe is going to take time.
The CDC Is Still Repeating Its Mistakes
The agency’s new guidelines are too timid and too complicated.
The Pandemic Made Her Sick, Even Before She Caught COVID-19
Headaches, eye pain, nausea—her symptoms began last spring. No one knows exactly why, except that the pandemic is to blame.
One Vaccine to Rule Them All
What if a single vaccine could protect us against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and every other coronavirus-related disease, forever and ever?
We Are Turning COVID-19 Into a Young Person’s Disease
Even as cases drop among vaccinated Americans, the coronavirus still can spread among unvaccinated people—who will be disproportionately children.
The Suicide Wave That Never Was
The notion that lockdowns increased the rate of death by suicide last year has become common knowledge. It’s not backed up by data.
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The Danger of a ‘Dudes Only’ Vaccine
We still don’t know who’s most at risk of getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine blood clots.
The Blood-Clot Problem Is Multiplying
So are theories to explain it.
COVID-19 Vaccines Are Entering Uncharted Immune Territory
Some people’s bodies aren’t set up for vaccines.
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The mRNA Vaccines Are Looking Better and Better
Concerns about blood clots with Johnson & Johnson underscore just how lucky Americans are to have the Pfizer and Moderna shots.
The Rural Pandemic Isn’t Ending
Public-health leaders in rural America are turning toward the next and more difficult stage of the nationwide vaccination campaign: persuasion.
3 Different Futures for the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
A pause is just that—a pause—in which health officials can reevaluate the data at hand.
The Way Out of Brain Fog
One of COVID-19’s most persistent and mysterious problems finally has some treatments.
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A Better Solution Than Laminating Your Vaccine Card
Political grandstanding about vaccine passports serves no one.
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You Probably Have an Asymptomatic Infection Right Now
No, not COVID-19. Many, many viruses can infect humans without making us sick, and how they do that is one of biology’s deepest mysteries.
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The Futility of Vaccine Passports
Domestic vaccine passports are fine on the surface, but they don’t provide help to the people who need it most.
The Urgency of Vaccinating Kids
The fact that many adults are still refusing the vaccine makes immunizing children even more important.
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Vaccine Cheat Days Are Adding Up
Vaccinated and unvaccinated people are getting more lax with behavior at a time when vigilance really matters.
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The Threat That COVID-19 Poses Now
After a year of waves and surges, the pandemic is entering a “tornado” phase in America.
That Other Reason You Might Feel Terrible Right Now
Please don’t forget: It’s allergy season.
Why D.C. Is Failing at the Vaccination Game
If the District were a state, it could fix its shot problem.
The Fourth Surge Is Upon Us. This Time, It’s Different.
A deadlier and more transmissible variant has taken root, but now we have the tools to stop it if we want.
We Need to Talk About the AstraZeneca Vaccine
For the moment, reports of a very rare, dangerous blood disorder among recipients cannot be ignored.
Availability Bias Is Messing With Summer Planning
Our natural optimism points in one direction, even as recent history points in another.
The Vaccine Line Is an Illusion
People are stretching the truth to get the vaccine faster, but experts say I shouldn’t. Here’s why.
Why People Keep Asking Which Vaccine You Got
Vaccine small talk has given America something to chat about again.
How mRNA Technology Could Change the World
mRNA’s story likely will not end with COVID-19: Its potential stretches far beyond this pandemic.
COVID-19 Is Different Now
The coronavirus is changing. So is the disease it causes.
Returning to Normal Means Recalibrating My Brain
The pandemic’s retreat doesn’t necessarily mean life will get easier for people with OCD.
Long-Haulers Are Pushing the Limits of COVID-19 Vaccines
People with long COVID were left out of vaccine trials. They are now navigating the new shots on their own.
The Clearest Sign the Pandemic Could Get Worse
Another coronavirus outbreak is unfolding in Michigan.
The Pandemic’s Future Hangs in Suspense
A new surge has not yet shown up in the case numbers, but cases could be declining at a slower rate.
The False Dilemma of Post-Vaccination Risk
We’ll never know for sure how contagious people are after they’re vaccinated, but we do know how they should act.
The Winter Surge Is Melting Away
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all fell for the fourth consecutive week.
You Got the Vaccine! What Can You Do Now?
A guide to America’s awkward, semi-vaccinated months
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A Simple Rule of Thumb for Knowing When the Pandemic Is Over
At some point—maybe even soon—the emergency phase of the pandemic will end. But what, exactly, is that magic threshold?
The Most Likely Timeline for Life to Return to Normal
An uncertain spring, an amazing summer, a cautious fall and winter, and then, finally, relief.
A Sign of Just How Terrible the Winter’s Surge Was
In November, COVID-19 levels shot past the worst of the summer’s surge. Now they’re back below that threshold.
A Quite Possibly Wonderful Summer
Families will gather. Restaurants will reopen. People will travel. The pandemic may feel like it’s behind us—even if it’s not.
The Good News of COVID-19 Is Sticking, for Now
Every major pandemic indicator has been falling for weeks.
COVID-19 Cases Are Dropping Fast. Why?
Four reasons: social distancing, seasonality, seroprevalence, and shots.
The Pandemic’s Deadly Winter Surge Is Rapidly Easing
Cases are down 57 percent from the country’s all-time peak in early January, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
What If We Never Reach Herd Immunity?
Hitting the threshold might actually be impossible. But vaccines can still help end the pandemic.
A Single Day With Fewer Than 100,000 Cases of COVID-19
The case count in the U.S. hadn’t dipped that low since November.
The Pandemic Is in Tenuous Retreat
New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all dropped this week.
The Pandemic Broke the Flu
This winter has been an extraordinarily quiet flu season. Scientists aren’t sure the silence will last.
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The Second COVID-19 Shot Is a Rude Reawakening for Immune Cells
Side effects are just a sign that protection is kicking in as it should.
The Brazil Variant Is Exposing the World’s Vulnerability
Somehow the coronavirus is rampaging through a city that was supposedly immune.