For those at high risk, Pfizer's antiviral drug helps stave off severe COVID-19. Now research suggests it may also reduce their chances of long COVID.

The updated recommendations seek to course correct after guidelines from 2016 were criticized for harshly limiting access to needed pain medication.

About half of U.S. adults get their flu shot each year, but a new report finds that Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are less likely to get a flu vaccine — and more likely to be hospitalized.

Early fears of an escalating outbreak have not come to pass. Scientists are finding that the virus needs a very particular set of circumstances to spread effectively.

New daily monkeypox cases have been falling, and the CDC says cases are probably going to plateau or decline over the next few weeks.

In the first congressional hearing on monkeypox, federal officials were criticized for being slow to act, and struggling to apply the lessons of the pandemic to the current outbreak.

Congress held its hearing on the federal response to the monkeypox outbreak. That comes as cases — and vaccinations — slow down in the U.S.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis is steering the U.S. monkeypox response. A month into the job, he sees signs of success, but there's still more to be done.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that a disproportionate number of people who are contracting monkeypox in the U.S. are also HIV-positive.

Rates of new cases are declining in major cities, suggesting public health campaigns are working.

All summer, NPR's Science Desk has been looking at sweat. Humans are covered with millions of sweat glands, but it wasn't always that way. When did humans start to sweat?

Pfizer has submitted data on its bivalent COVID-19 booster shot that specifically targets the latest omicron subvariants. If authorized, the company says the shots could be ready as soon as September.

Missteps and delays have hampered the U.S. effort to vaccinate people against monkeypox. Now state health officials and community members are trying to adapt to a controversial "dose sparing" plan.

The U.S. is facing a shortage of the monkeypox vaccine as the outbreak grows rapidly. The White House is pursuing a controversial strategy where each person only gets a fraction of the full dose.

The CDC stopped recommending quarantines or test-to-stay in schools. It's part of a relaxation of COVID guidance that acknowledges the virus is here to stay, and that many people have prior immunity.

Revised guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks to minimize COVID-19's disruption of daily life while conceding that the pandemic isn't over.

The Biden administration is allowing the shot to be given between layers of skin — a method that only requires a fifth of the full dose — in order to increase vaccinations and slow the outbreak.

As the monkeypox outbreak grows, there's a lot of confusion about how the disease spreads. Who is most at risk and how worried should you be?

The White House has declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency. This could be a turning point in the lackluster monkeypox response.

Though doctors and advocates have helped speed up access to the antiviral pills – of which the U.S. has enough to treat 1.7 million people – health providers are few and forms are still required.