health care

Attorney General William Barr speaks during a coronavirus task force news conference at the White House this month.

DOJ Would Support Legal Action If Governors' Restrictions Go 'Too Far,' Barr Says

4:17pm April 21, 2020

by Alana Wise

Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department would consider legal consequences against states that continue to impose strict coronavirus restrictions.

Health & Safety

Nurse Of Non-COVID-19 Patients On Her Life As An Essential Worker Now

4:10pm April 21, 2020

Nurse Maria Lim works in a rehabilitation facility in Orange County, Calif. She is an essential worker who gives us her aural journal this week.

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Health & Safety

Global Health Expert Answers The Most Common Coronavirus Questions

9:51am April 21, 2020

by Pien Huang

Global health expert Dr. Abraar Karan and NPR's Pien Huang answer the most common listener questions on the spread of the coronavirus, its symptoms, testing and treatment.

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A hospital patient in Stamford, Conn., who has COVID-19 symptoms gets his temperature checked. Severe infections with the novel coronavirus have been unusually high among African Americans and Latinos in many hospitals.

Health & Safety

Opinion: U.S. Must Avoid Building Racial Bias Into COVID-19 Emergency Guidance

7:00am April 21, 2020

States are releasing "Crisis Standards of Care" guidelines, aimed at helping desperate hospitals discern how to allocate scarce resources. But the guidance doesn't factor in health care inequalities.

Health & Safety

Global Health Expert Answers More Common Coronavirus Questions

10:52pm April 20, 2020

by Pien Huang

Global health expert Dr. Abraar Karan and NPR's Pien Huang answer the most common listener questions on the spread of the coronavirus, its symptoms, testing and treatment.

This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the spherical particles of the new coronavirus, colorized blue. New York is planning a major effort to test the population for antibodies for t

Health & Safety

New York Starts 'Aggressive' Coronavirus Antibody Testing In Quest To Reopen Economy

8:04pm April 20, 2020

by Vanessa Romo

"Any plan to start to reopen the economy has to be based on data and testing, and we have to make sure our antibody and diagnostic testing is up to the scale we need," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Health & Safety

Life After Intubation: People Face Physical, Cognitive Issues

4:24pm April 20, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

The majority of people recover from COVID-19, but some who have been in intensive care still have a variety of health problems, both physical and cognitive, after they leave the hospital.

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U.S. Military Also Struggling To Ramp Up Coronavirus Testing Capacity

4:24pm April 20, 2020

by Tom Bowman

Coronavirus testing in the U.S. military is as limited as it is among civilians. Even if testing availability increases, it would be enough only for critical jobs, like cyber or nuclear forces.

A January report found that 40% of U.S. counties don't have a single health care provider approved to prescribe buprenorphine, a medicine integral to helping many patients beat opioid addiction. Permitting more-distant doctors to evaluate patients online

Coronavirus Crisis Spurs Access To Online Treatment For Opioid Addiction

3:54pm April 20, 2020

by Phil Galewitz

The federal government has waived a law that required an in-person doctor's visit before patients could be prescribed drugs that quell withdrawal symptoms. That's a boon for patients, counselors say.

Data on race and COVID-19 won't be released by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services until early May, said Seema Verma, CMS administrator.

White House: Data On COVID-19 And Race Still Weeks Away

2:26pm April 20, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

After promising on April 7 that data on how COVID-19 is affecting people of different races would be available in a few days, the Trump administration now says it won't happen until early May.