Pediatricians San Diego

They interpret for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his coronavirus briefings. Their expressive signing has made them celebrities — and brought attention to South African Sign Language. (Image credit: Youtube/ Screenshots by NPR)

This pandemic is like war, and federal, state and local health officers are leading the U.S. response. Yet unlike war heroes, who are lionized, they are facing unprecedented attacks and death threats. (Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Getty Images)

NPR's Debbie Elliot asks Mayor Walt Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mayor Donnie Tuck of Hampton, Va., and Mayor Bruce Teague of Iowa City, Iowa, how they're trying to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

The learning curve for families and educators this year is a big one. We hear from the Munoz family in Las Vegas about what their first week of remote school was like.

NPR's Debbie Elliott speaks with Dr. Denese Shervington about the lingering post-traumatic stress of Hurricane Katrina 15 years after it made landfall.

Mayor Walt Maddox of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mayor Donnie Tuck of Hampton, Vir. and Mayor Bruce Teague of Iowa City, Iowa, on how they're trying to halt the spread of the coronavirus. (Image credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Alisha Morris, a Kansas theater teacher, created a database of COVID-19 cases in schools. Now maintained by the National Education Association, it shares data that some schools prefer to keep quiet. (Image credit: US schools tracker/Screenshot by NPR)

A vaccine against the coronavirus needs to keep people from getting very sick and dying. But preventing the spread of the disease is also important, and vaccines delivered by nasal spray may do that. (Image credit: TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)

In 13 U.S. cities this summer, volunteers are capturing detailed measurements that will include the heat index people experience. Cities will use the new heat maps to help cool the hottest spots. (Image credit: Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT News)

What if your body could corral an infection instead of eliminating it? Immunologists who see this sort of "disease tolerance" in plants wonder what role it might play in asymptomatic human infections. (Image credit: Alexander Spatari/Getty Images)

EcoHealth Alliance is one of 11 recipients of funds to set up the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases. But the grant won't let them revisit earlier research on bats and coronavirus. (Image credit: NHPA/NHPA/Science Source)

Alisha Johnson is an occupational therapist in Atlanta. Many of her clients these days are COVID-19 survivors, and she talks about how her work has changed because of the pandemic.

Hurricane Laura hit an area known for its refineries and chemical plants. They released millions of pounds of air pollution when they shut down, and many air monitors are not functioning. (Image credit: Gerald Herbert/AP)

At least 87 coronavirus cases are associated with the outbreak from an Aug. 7 wedding, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said. (Image credit: Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Evacuations and storm damage could both potentially increase COVID-19 numbers in Texas.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are facing a credibility crisis after botched communication efforts and perceptions of political interference.

Mass transportation ridership plummeted when COVID-19 struck. Now people are beginning to return. What are the risks they face — and how can they reduce them? (Image credit: Michael Tewelde/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

Emily Miller was central in defending the FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, after he falsely said that blood plasma could lower the death rate from COVID-19 by more than a third. (Image credit: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A century's worth of U.S. statistics finds mortality rates and life expectancy were much worse for Black Americans during pre-pandemic y ears than they have been for whites during the COVID-19 crisis. (Image credit: Matt Rourke/AP)

Smoke is rising over the city from a plant complex that makes chlorine for swimming pools, according to a state official. Residents are advised to shelter in place until further notice.

Mumbai officials get creative to allow devotees to celebrate the elephant-headed god safely, even as virus cases surge in other parts of India. (Image credit: Rajanish Kakade/AP)

"We are in a period of epidemic growth," Prime Minister Jean Castex said. "We want to do everything to avoid a new lockdown." The order goes into effect Friday. (Image credit: Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

More than half a million people were ordered to flee Texas and Louisiana in the largest evacuation since the coronavirus pandemic began. (Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Atlantic journalist Alexis Madrigal says millions of at-home saliva tests for COVID could be the key to a safe reopening — even if the tests are less accurate than the traditional PCR tests. (Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Across China, life has largely returned to normal — except in the western region of Xinjiang. Some 22 million people have been under heavy lockdown since July — and they're questioning its severity. (Image credit: Zhao Ge/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its coronavirus testing guidelines, raising questions about whether the move was done to reduce testing.

Los Angeles has turned off the power to a home that hosted several large parties. The city said the resident violated public health orders meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Scientists say influenza has almost disappeared in the Southern Hemisphere due to COVID-19 precautions, suggesting the Northern Hemisphere may avoid the double whammy of the coronavirus and flu.

The agency now says contacts of people with COVID-19 don't necessarily need to get tested. Public health experts say less testing of potential carriers could lead to more spread of the disease. (Image credit: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

So far this year, flu infections are way down in the Southern Hemisphere. Scientists want to know why — and what it means for the Northern Hemisphere as their flu season looms. (Image credit: Andre Coelho/Getty Images)

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Dr. Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute about his concerns about the use of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 treatment.