Coronavirus

cat on a chair

Desperate pet owners turn to illegal drug markets to cure a rare cat virus 

Health & Medicine

If a cat contracts feline infectious peritonitis, a chronic wasting disease, it is almost always fatal. A pharmaceutical company, however, developed a recipe for a cure. Global drug manufacturers are now marketing off-label versions of the medication — and cat owners say it works. 

People walk down a normally bustling shopping street in the center of Amsterdam

With Christmas in the balance, nations eye UK omicron surge

COVID-19
Security forces stand guard inside an airport terminal in Rabat, Morocco

Discussion: The omicron variant and holiday travel

Merck corporate headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

New Merck pill could help treat COVID-19 symptoms for people without access to vaccines

Medicine
A nurse prepares a syringe for a patient infected with the coronavirus in the intensive care unit at the Syrian American Medical Society Hospital

Discussion: The challenges of vaccinating people in conflict zones

People wearing masks as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus assemble to offer prayers at Dhakeshwari Temple during a Hindu Durga Puja festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Randomized study of mask-wearing illustrates their importance in preventing the spread COVID-19

COVID-19

The study, a randomized trial set up to demonstrate the effectiveness of masks, was conducted across 600 villages in rural Bangladesh. Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, a Bangladeshi economist at Yale University discussed the findings with The World’s host Carol Hills.

A person wearing blue gloves presents a vial of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine dose

Charges dropped against Congolese Canadian doctor accused of starting COVID outbreak

Justice

Family physician Jean-Robert Ngola faced harassment and death threats after being falsely accused of spreading the coronavirus.

Man with oxygen mask lies face down on a stretcher with a green blanket on top and two people in the distance

COVID downward spiral in Latin America disrupts life-saving services

COVID-19

Brazil’s experience is a cautionary tale of what happens when infections go unchecked and vaccination rates lag, said Marcia Castro, a Brazilian demographer and chair of global health and population at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Men in suits, some wearing masks and sunglasses stand together

Will Ghebreyesus’ pandemic report card earn him a second WHO term?

Leaders

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, has been a mainstay face of the COVID-19 pandemic response over the past year.

Army captain in scrubs administers COVID-19 vaccine to man in black shirt

The quest for a universal coronavirus vaccine

Medicine

A growing number of researchers are working to develop a variant-proof vaccine that would provide lasting immunity against different strains of the coronavirus, as well as other types of coronaviruses.