Health & Safety

Mahender Singh Deora/Veerni Institute / Julia Gunther for NPR / Mahender Singh Deora/Veerni Institute

Editors' pick: 11 hidden gems on our global health blog in 2021

10:53am December 21, 2021

by Malaka Gharib

Want to hear the former president of Zambia sing about public health? Find out what to do if you lose a sheep in Senegal? Use solar power to iron garments? Give these stories a read.

People walk their dogs along a narrow road as the first winter frost blankets the fields in Oudeland van Strijen in the Netherlands on Tuesday. It's the shortest day of the year and official start of winter.

It's the shortest day of the year. Things can only get brighter from here

10:44am December 21, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Tuesday is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. That means from now till June, each day will be a little bit longer — and brighter. Here are some ways you can celebrate the season.

The NHL pauses hockey season until after Christmas due to COVID-19 risks

9:39am December 21, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

The league will begin its holiday break starting at the end of Tuesday night's games, postponing the five remaining games scheduled for Thursday.

Health & Safety

Surgeon General Murthy says the U.S. has more tools now to fight COVID

9:18am December 21, 2021

NPR's Scott Detrow talks to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about the Biden administration's plans to handle the expected omicron wave. He cautions people to get vaccinated and then the booster.

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Public health experts will be listening as Biden speaks to the nation about omicron

8:12am December 21, 2021

The omicron variant is now the dominant variant in the U.S. President Biden is set to warn Americans about omicron, and talk about the administration's plans to help areas struggling with the surge.

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News brief: Biden speech, COVID testing critique, Pentagon extremism rules

6:58am December 21, 2021

President Biden addresses the Omicron variant in a speech Tuesday. Some health officials say Biden has fallen short on COVID testing. The Pentagon is updating its policies on extremism in its ranks.

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Health & Safety

Israel takes action to control the spread of the omicron variant

6:13am December 21, 2021

by Daniel Estrin

Israel is banning its citizens from traveling to the U.S. and dozens of other countries, hoping to control the newest coronavirus variant, and allow Israel to avoid shutting down the economy.

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The recent COVID-19 outbreak at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., comes amid a new round of rising infections in California and across the country that have been fueled by the spread of the omicron variant.

Health & Safety

SpaceX reports LA County's highest number of workplace COVID-19 cases

10:22pm December 20, 2021

by Vanessa Romo

New data shows the Elon Musk-led company currently accounts for nearly 30% of workplace COVID-19 cases reported by Los Angeles County officials.

Health & Safety

The riddle of Japan's dramatic drop in COVID numbers

9:32pm December 20, 2021

by Anthony Kuhn

The turnaround came in the wake of a fifth wave of infections that peaked in August. Japan is trying to figure out why its COVID-19 case numbers and fatalities have plummeted.

People wait at a street-side testing booth in New York's Times Square on Monday.

Omicron is now the dominant COVID strain in the U.S., making up 73% of new infections

9:23pm December 20, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

Underscoring its high transmissibility, in a week, omicron went from a 12.6% share of new COVID infections in the U.S. to a dominant 73.2%, according to the CDC's latest estimates.