In the News

A ruling by a federal judge has ended — at least for now — the requirement that people wear masks on planes and public transportation, and there is plenty of confusion about the new, post-mask world of travel.
 

Arguably the most successful version of the Omicron coronavirus variant to date has been BA.2 -- but it hasn't been resting on its laurels. BA.2 has been picking up mutations, sometimes shifting into sleeker and, incredibly, even faster versions of itself.
 

A new team of federal health scientists has officially embarked on a mission to provide what has often been absent from the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic: better, faster information about what’s likely to happen next in this public health emergency and in future outbreaks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday removed all countries from its highest risk level as it updated its system that advises on Covid-19 risks abroad.
 

Kids aren’t getting caught up on routine shots they missed during the pandemic, and many vaccination proponents are pointing to Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy as a big reason why.
 

While debilitating side effects from vaccines are rare, vaccine trials and dose recommendations tend to overlook the growing evidence that immune responses differ widely in men and women, both in response to viral infections and following vaccination.
 

Federal authorities have begun monitoring Hawaii wastewater for COVID-19, while the state expects its own monitoring program to be fully operational this summer, officials said.

A lot has changed since last year’s pre-Delta lull, but America can still reclaim some coronavirus-free chill—if it decides to commit.

In a pattern that has been repeated for more than two years, coronavirus cases are rising again in the D.C. region and nationwide, after a brief respite with some of the lowest rates of virus circulation of the pandemic.
 

After the omicron wave of COVID-19 receded earlier this winter, states and cities across the country moved quickly to ease mitigation measures, leaving many officials hopeful that the virus would soon be in the rear-view mirror, ahead of the looming midterm elections in November.
 

Safe Streets, modeled after the Cure Violence program in Chicago, employs community members — people with knowledge of the streets and often criminal histories — as “violence interrupters.” They’re tasked with mediating conflicts before they turn deadly.
 

One of the biggest logistical headaches for international travelers — the requirement to test negative for the coronavirus within a day of flying into the United States — appears to be sticking around.