Covid Lab-Leak Theory Renews "Gain-of-Function" Research Debate

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/19 11:00P Carl Zimmer and James Gorman

Talk of ‘gain-of-function’ research, a muddy category at best, brings up deep questions about how scientists should study viruses and other pathogens.

Desperate for Covid Care, Undocumented Immigrants Resort to Unproven Drugs

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/19 11:00P Amy Maxmen

Shut out from mainstream medicine, some immigrants are buying expensive, unproven Covid therapies from “wellness” clinics or turning to the black market.

Traveling This Summer? Here’s What You Should Know About the Delta Variant.

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/18 10:06A Concepción de León

It’s the most contagious form of the coronavirus so far. Here’s what you need to know before traveling.

On the Pointless of Pointy Shoes

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/18 6:11A Alan Burdick

Archaeological advice on post-pandemic footwear. Plus: brittle stars in a “weirdo box,” a possible Viking ransom and more in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Taiwan Orders Some Tech Workers to Stay Indoors to Tackle an Outbreak

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 11:34P Amy Chang Chien and Amy Qin

Activists say that the measures discriminate against migrant laborers, an essential pillar of the island’s high-tech industries.

High Hopes for Johnson & Johnson’s Covid Vaccine Have Fizzled in the U.S.

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 11:00P Noah Weiland

Production problems and a brief pause on its use kept the one-dose vaccine from becoming the game changer that health officials across the country believed it would be.

For a Science Reporter, the Job Was Always About the People

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 11:00P Denise Grady

In two decades covering medicine for The New York Times, the people I met, and the truths they revealed, have always stayed with me.

The Maldives Lured Tourists Back. Now It Needs Nurses.

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 6:19P Maahil Mohamed and Mike Ives

The island nation kept Covid cases low, and its resorts open, for much of the pandemic. But a recent surge exposed its overreliance on expatriate health workers.

Parents and caregivers reported mental health issues more often than others during the pandemic, a...

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 12:07P Daniel E. Slotnik

The report follows innumerable anecdotes and several studies suggesting spikes in mental health problems among parents and caregivers during the pandemic.

Obamacare Survives Latest Supreme Court Challenge

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 6:19A Adam Liptak

The court sidestepped the larger issue in the case, whether the 2010 health care law can stand without a provision that required most Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty.

A Pill to Treat Covid-19? The U.S. Is Betting on It.

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 5:47A Carl Zimmer

A new $3.2 billion program will support the development of antiviral pills, which could start arriving by the end of this year.

Nations weigh mandates and incentives to drive up vaccination rates.

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/17 2:09A Azi Paybarah

While some parts of the world have used lures such as free lottery tickets to lift inoculation rates, officials in a few places may go straight to requiring shots.

CureVac’s Covid Vaccine Performed Badly in Trial, In Part Due to Variants

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/16 11:25A Carl Zimmer

The results were a blow to hopes that the vaccine could help meet the world’s urgent need. “This is pretty devastating” for the company, one expert said.

Covid Proved the C.D.C. Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed?

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/16 10:47A Jeneen Interlandi and Brian Rea

The pandemic revealed the glaring weaknesses of the world’s premier public health agency — and just how much work it would take to reform it.

Vaccine Maker Earned Record Profits but Delivered Disappointment in Return

NYTimes.com (Health) 6/16 8:13A Sharon LaFraniere, Chris Hamby a

Emergent BioSolutions was awarded a $628 million federal contract with no competitive bidding. Top executives received big bonuses while factories mostly sat idle and tens of millions of Covid-19 doses were thrown away.