Public Health
Better Face Masks Are Possible: Here Are Some Winning Designs
A two-part competition aims to spark innovation and connect the groups trying to redesign high-quality masks that protect against COVID
"The Coronavirus Outbreak"
Vaccines
What the U.S. Can Learn from Brazil’s Successful COVID Vaccination Campaign
Despite similar leadership at the start of the pandemic, Brazilians are more trusting of government and view vaccination as a necessity and a right
Public Health
How to Care for COVID at Home, and Is That Sniffle Allergies or the Virus? COVID Quickly, Episode 30
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.You can listen to all past episodes here...
Epidemiology
A Guide to the Different Omicron Subvariants
How to tell the different versions of SARS-CoV-2 apart, and how well vaccines protect against them
Vaccines
Nose Spray Vaccines Could Quash COVID Virus Variants
Three nasal spritzes, now in advanced trials, could trigger stronger immunity than shots in the arm
Public Health
Safer Indoor Air, and People Want Masks on Planes and Trains: COVID Quickly, Episode 29
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.You can listen to all past episodes here...
Vaccines
Here’s Who Should Get a Second COVID Booster
An individual’s health risks, treatment access and local case levels come into play for those who are eligible
Epidemiology
How to Judge COVID Risks and When to Wear a Mask
Scientific American asks experts in medicine, risk assessment and other fields how to balance the risks of COVID with the benefits of visiting public indoor spaces
Epidemiology
Are New Omicron Subvariants a Threat? How Scientists are Keeping Watch
In South Africa, a network of researchers are studying whether new lineages BA.4 and BA.5 escape immunity from COVID-19 vaccines and prior infections
Public Health
Venturing Back to the Office and the Benefits of Hybrid Immunity: COVID Quickly, Episode 28
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.You can listen to all past episodes here...
Vaccines
COVID Vaccines plus Infection Can Lead to Months of Immunity
New research counters high-profile claims that people who had COVID don’t benefit from vaccination
Epidemiology
What We Know about Omicron’s BA.2 Variant So Far
Does the new strain sweeping the globe mean COVID will become ever more contagious?
Public Health
Second Boosters, Masks in the Next Wave and Smart Risk Decisions: COVID Quickly, Episode 27
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.You can listen to all past episodes here...
Medicine
A Simple Solution Would Make COVID Antivirals More Accessible, Pharmacists Say
The Biden administration’s Test to Treat program aims to make the treatments available at pharmacies, yet it requires a medical provider to prescribe the drugs
Epidemiology
What One Million COVID Dead Mean for the U.S.’s Future
The country has reached an unthinkably grim milestone. Nearly 200,000 children have lost parents, many more elderly have been killed, and family well-being has been ripped apart
Medicine
Can Drugs Reduce the Risk of Long COVID? What Scientists Know So Far
Researchers are trying to establish whether existing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments can prevent lasting symptoms
Public Health
New COVID Spit Tests May Be More Accurate and Easier Than Nasal Swabs
Saliva PCR tests may detect disease earlier in the course of an infection
Vaccines
Vaccines Remain Effective against BA.2, but Protection from Infection Wanes over Time
Such protection declines within months of the mRNA COVID vaccines’ third dose. Yet the vaccines continue to ward off severe disease
Public Health
Florida Gets Kids and Vaccines Wrong and Ukraine’s Health Crisis: COVID Quickly, Episode 26
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.You can listen to all past episodes here...
Epidemiology
Are ‘COVID Toes’ Actually Caused by the Coronavirus?
A study adds to evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection doesn’t cause an inflamed-toe condition called chilblains, but it doesn’t close the door
