Health & Safety

Victoria Gray, who has sickle cell disease, volunteered for one of the most anticipated medical experiments in decades: the first attempt to use the gene-editing technique CRISPR to treat a genetic disorder in the United States.

Health & Safety

First sickle cell patient treated with CRISPR gene-editing still thriving

11:10am December 31, 2021

by Rob Stein

A young Mississippi woman is thriving two years after getting treated for sickle cell disease with the revolutionary gene-editing technique known as CRISPR.

Queue Listen Now

Trucks drive in front of Teva Pharmaceutical Logistic Center in the town of Shoam, Israel, on Oct. 16, 2013. On Thursday, a jury held Teva responsible for contributing to the opioid crisis.

Health & Safety

A jury holds Teva Pharmaceuticals liable in the opioid crisis

9:55am December 31, 2021

by The Associated Press

A separate trial will follow to determine what Teva will have to pay in the case, in which New York state and two Long Island counties took on a swath of drug companies.

Car keys are shown by glasses with alcohol in this stock photo illustration. Companies are developing technology that would allow cars to stop people from driving when drunk.

Health & Safety

What if cars could stop you from driving drunk? A peek at the latest tech

7:01am December 31, 2021

by Camila Domonoske

A new federal law will eventually require new vehicles to detect and prevent drunk driving, which would revolutionize vehicle safety. Here's a look at some of the technology being developed.

Queue Listen Now

Pfizer PR photo: Freiburg_dissolution tester_ COVID oral PI tablets

Health & Safety

The COVID antiviral drugs are here but they're scarce. Here's what to know

5:17am December 31, 2021

by Sydney Lupkin

Paxlovid and molnupiravir have been authorized for emergency use to keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital, but don't expect to be able to go to your usual pharmacy and get them.

Health & Safety

The Gulf South remains highly undervaccinated

5:05am December 31, 2021

COVID-19 vaccination rates in the Gulf states have been among the lowest in the U.S. since the pandemic began. After vaccines were authorized for 5-to-11-year-olds, that trend continued.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

What the current COVID-19 surge is doing to children

5:05am December 31, 2021

The latest COVID-19 surge is putting kids in the hospital in record numbers. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Dr. Claudia Hoyen, an expert in pediatric infection in Cleveland, Ohio.

Health care workers administer COVID-19 tests at a drive-through clinic in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 31. Australian health authorities have reported a record 32,000 new virus cases, many of them in Sydney.

New virus infections driven by omicron soar to record high in Australia

4:03am December 31, 2021

by The Associated Press

New coronavirus infections soared again in Australia on Friday to a record of more than 32,000 driven by the highly contagious omicron variant and a recent relaxation of restrictions in many areas.

The Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Sunrise ship is seen in the port of Miami on Dec. 23, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

People should avoid cruise travel regardless of their vaccination status, the CDC says

6:28pm December 30, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The CDC revised its guidance Thursday, as 91 cruise ships are under investigation for COVID outbreaks onboard. Most cruise lines require adult passengers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

New York jury finds Teva Pharmaceuticals liable in the opioid crisis

6:18pm December 30, 2021

by Brian Mann

A jury in New York has found Teva Pharmaceutical liable for fueling the nation's deadly opioid epidemic.

Queue Listen Now

Activists participate in a candlelight vigil calling for an end to the nation's opioid addiction crisis at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in August 2017.

More than a million Americans have died from overdoses during the opioid epidemic

6:15pm December 30, 2021

by Brian Mann

New research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found roughly 932,000 fatal overdoses from 1999-2020. Preliminary data shows another 100,000 deaths this year.

Queue Listen Now