COVID-19

A new round of free COVID tests is coming soon

2:48pm August 24, 2024

Starting in late September, Americans will be able to order up to four free at-home COVID-19 tests that will be delivered to your mailbox. The tests will be able to detect newer variants of the virus.

John Lansing, the steady CEO who led NPR through the pandemic's crises, dies at 67

1:22pm August 16, 2024

Lansing tangled with titans, kept the network’s shows on the air even as its offices closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and steered NPR through what he defined as an “existential” financial crisis.

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Health & Safety

Researchers decipher MIS-C, the scary illness that followed COVID in some kids

4:18pm August 08, 2024

by Maria Godoy

Some children who had COVID developed a severe inflammatory response that could put them in the ICU. Scientists have learned why it happens.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1.

Health & Safety

COVID-19 cases on the rise in the Triad

5:26pm July 31, 2024

by Santiago Ochoa

A summertime rise in COVID-19 cases brought on by increased travel and extended time spent indoors has caught the attention of health care workers in the Piedmont Triad.

Politics & Government

North Carolina governor vetoes masks bill largely because of provision about campaign finance

3:53pm June 21, 2024

by Associated Press

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a North Carolina masking bill that previously removed a pandemic-era exemption that allowed people to mask in public for health reasons. That provision was later changed after pushback to include language that protects masking for health purposes. But Cooper said his veto of the bill Friday was mostly for a different reason. Cooper and Democrats objected to a campaign finance provision tacked onto the end of the bill that could allow wealthy donors to give money to federal political committees that can then donate to state parties.

Arts

How the pandemic led this documentary photographer to make her work more collaborative

11:07am June 09, 2024

Photographer Ashima Yadava captures a moment in time during the 2020 pandemic through her collaboration with people she took portraits of.

Students wear masks during protest at Wake Forest University

Politics & Government

North Carolina bill to curb mask-wearing in protests could make it illegal for medical reasons too

3:59pm May 14, 2024

by Associated Press

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have proposed a bill that would enhance penalties for people wearing a mask during a crime or intentionally blocking traffic during protests. The bill passed its first committee on Tuesday.

A pro-Palestinian student rally near the UNC Chapel Hill campus, where two students hold a sign that says "Cops off campus."

Politics & Government

NC Senate Republicans want to restrict masks at protests

4:04pm May 07, 2024

by Colin Campbell - WUNC

Republicans in the state Senate want to crack down on recent protests by restricting the use of masks in public. The new bill also would create a felony offense for blocking traffic.

Don't just sneeze without a tissue! That's the message of this early pandemic era graffiti in Dakar, Senegal. The World Health Organization has just issued an updated report on the way SARS-CoV-2 spreads. Take our quiz to see if you're up on your COVID terminology.

Health & Safety

Quiz: Can you pass our 9 question test on the latest theories of COVID-19 transmission

10:49am April 29, 2024

by Ari Daniel

The World Health Organization has issued a report updating terminology and explanations regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus. See if you're up on the latest vocab.

The CDC has overhauled its COVID-19 isolation guidelines, saying the virus no longer represents the same threat to public health as it did several years ago.

Health & Safety

Got COVID? CDC says stay home while you're sick, but drops its 5-day isolation rule

5:12pm March 01, 2024

The agency is replacing its COVID-specific guidance with general guidance for respiratory viruses that says people should stay home when they are sick.