Health & Safety

An ambulance arrives at the emergency department at AdventHealth hospital in Orlando in late July. Florida is one of several states seeing disappearing hospital capacity as COVID-19 cases surge.

Mississippi's Hospital System Could Collapse Within 10 Days Under COVID's Strain

5:53pm August 12, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

COVID-19 cases are overwhelming the South. Arkansas set a record for hospitalizations, while officials in one Florida county are urging residents to "consider other options" before calling 911.

Health & Safety

As COVID-19 Cases Among Kids Rise, Health Official Urges School Mask Mandates

5:16pm August 12, 2021

by April Laissle

Cases of COVID-19 among younger children are rising in North Carolina, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The Potential Implications Of Not Tracking Breakthrough Cases

4:28pm August 12, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Saad Omer, the director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, on the implications of not tracking breakthrough infections.

How To Deal With Renewed COVID Anxiety

4:28pm August 12, 2021

America's approach to tackling the contagious delta variant has dramatically shifted. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Dr. Lucy McBride about the emotional whiplash many in the U.S. are feeling now.

Coping With The Reality Of Climate Change

4:28pm August 12, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with psychologist Elke Weber about the way individuals deal with the threat of climate change.

Florida School Superintendent On Going Against Governor's Order By Requiring Masks

4:28pm August 12, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Alachua County Public School superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon about the unanimous school board vote to require masks for the first two weeks of school.

IDs Aren't The Only Fake Documents College Students Want — Now It's Vaccine Cards Too

4:28pm August 12, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Roselyn Romero of the Associated Press about how college students are using forged vaccination cards to attend in-person classes, and what schools are doing to respond.

Children beat the heat Thursday in a misting pool at a park in Queens as temperatures reach into the 90s in New York City.

Nearly 2 In 3 Americans Are Dealing With Dangerous Heat Waves

4:20pm August 12, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

The National Weather Service predicts areas on the East Coast could reach 100 degrees Thursday, with triple-digit temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, too. Relief isn't expected until the weekend.

Komal Rana, 19, a student in the Veerni Institute program, has faced pressure to marry since India's pandemic lockdown forced her to return home to her hamlet of Jhalamand near Jodhpur.

This Teen Is Being Pushed To Wed Because Of The Pandemic. Her School Helps Her Resist

3:26pm August 12, 2021

by Nurith Aizenman

She's one of 110 girls in a boarding program run by the Veerni Institute in India. When lockdowns hit, they were sent home to their villages, where child marriage is rampant.

Xavier Becerra, then nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, puts on his protective mask at his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing in February.

Nearly 300,000 More Federal Health Workers Are Ordered To Be Vaccinated

2:33pm August 12, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

The Department of Health and Human Services will require nearly a third of its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its vaccination mandate.