In the U.S., health and wealth are often linked. As the coronavirus spreads, experts worry low-income communities will be especially vulnerable — and ill-equipped to respond.
With a lack of tests, epidemiologists say the next best way to monitor the pandemic is by tracking hospitalizations. But hotspots like California and Washington are releasing little information.
As head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Verma says she's working to ease safety rules and lighten licensing requirements, to expand the number of hospital beds and health workers.
There are rumblings that U.S. health officials may start encouraging Americans to wear face masks to cut down on asymptomatic spread. But with continued shortages, it's not clear how we'd do that.
Molecular diagnostics are at the frontier of medical science. But along with precise information about health, the tests raise billing questions that can create a minefield for patients.
After weeks of keeping a low profile, the CDC's Dr. Robert Redfield tells NPR that data will determine future recommendations for wearing masks or easing back on social distancing.
Aetna, Cigna and Humana now say they will waive most treatment costs associated with COVID-19 that would normally be picked up by patients enrolled in their health plans. Will other firms follow suit?
Even many symptomatic patients and exposed health workers who are able to get a COVID-19 test must wait nearly a week to get results. Others get results in hours. Here's why it varies so much.
Leading public health experts argue that all U.S. states should have residents stay at home for several weeks to slow the coronavirus. But what needs to happen after the lockdowns are lifted?
People in recovery from opioid or alcohol addiction are weathering a new storm of depression, anxiety and isolation these days, as 12-step programs move online and detox centers close their doors.
Doctors say the machine that helps some people with sleep apnea keep their airway open at night won't be enough to help an ill COVID-19 patient breathe and could spread the coronavirus to bystanders.
When pressed on why the U.S. didn't import coronavirus tests after the CDC's effort ran into trouble, government officials drew on a study that had been retracted.
Psychologists say that what a lot of us are feeling these days is, in fact, a form of grief. Here's how to honor that feeling and regain equilibrium as we face an unknown future.
A treatment strategy that identifies particularly potent immune system proteins, then gins up mass quantities for a single dose might help prevent infections or quell symptoms, scientists say.
A key adviser to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn't think every state needs to be on lockdown just yet. But some places should be preparing for surges like New York's.
By renouncing the special status, Gilead Sciences lets go of tax breaks, fee waivers and seven years without generic competition for remdesivir, its experimental COVID-19 treatment.
Usually in health emergencies — HIV, vaping and more — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is key to shaping policy and explaining it. That's changing to America's detriment, leaders say.
To stop COVID-19, retired doctors are signing up to take clinical shifts. Specialists, including dentists, could move to front line care. And med students are fielding calls in overwhelmed clinics.
Gilead Science's remdesivir, an antiviral medicine being tested for treatment of COVID-19, would get a seven-year monopoly if approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Scientists hope a machine can do what a person can't: quickly analyze every physical and chemical aspect of the coronavirus and sift through the world's drugs for subtle clues that might prove useful.
The Trump administration says not everyone needs a test, but experts say a strategy of broad testing and isolating the sick is our best way to solve this crisis.
Despite Trump's public remarks, infectious disease experts say it's premature to think hydroxychloroquine will help against COVID-19. And patients with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis rely on the drug.
Years before he got diagnosed with Parkinson's, Joy Milne noticed her husband's characteristic scent had changed. The discovery that she could smell his illness has opened up a new field of research.
