Pediatricians San Diego

NPR's Sarah McCammon asks Dr. Tsion Firew of Columbia University what travelers should do now to help prevent more COVID-19 spread.

NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks with Andre Cooper, a sanitation and security worker cleaning airplanes, about what it's been like to work through a busy holiday travel season during a pandemic.

While much of Europe locked down to stop the coronavirus from spreading, Sweden relied largely on voluntary social distancing measures. Now as infections rise, the government is reconsidering.

Federal officials say upcoming COVID-19 vaccine distribution will be managed by the nation's governors. NPR's Sarah McCammon asks Gov. Ralph Northam, D-Va., about his plans.

More than 91,000 people were hospitalized with the virus on Saturday — 6,000 of those on ventilators. With the holiday season fast approaching, health experts fear the worst is yet to come. (Image credit: Mary Altaffer/AP)

The move comes just days before a U.S. rule was set to go into effect allowing for bulk importation of drugs from Canada. Trump promised it would lower costs and be a "game changer" for seniors. (Image credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Even as coronavirus cases surge in the United States, some shoppers can't seem to stay away from shops and malls on Black Friday.

New York City hospitals say they're better prepared for the growing number of COVID-19 cases than they were earlier this year, but some health care workers are worried.

We look at the possible pandemic fallout resulting from holiday travel in the U.S., how communities are responding to the latest round of restrictions, as well as the latest vaccine news.

With the daily number of new infections hovering around 20,000, Chancellor Angela Merkel told Germans this week that her government may move to extend restrictions into the new year. (Image credit: Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf of Period Equity about where the U.S. stands on providing free menstruation products nationally and how the pandemic has affected access to them.

The three-week order prohibits all public and private gatherings with individuals outside of a person's household, with limited exceptions for religious services and protests. (Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

North Minneapolis's mostly minority community lost its only grocery store this summer. It's a neighborhood grappling with heart disease, obesity and COVID-19. A Garden may help. (Image credit: Yuki Noguchi/NPR)

The first COVID-19 vaccines to hit the market will not be approved for use in children. Researchers must figure out if the vaccines are safe and effective in kids. (Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

South Korean lawmakers say intelligence officials briefed them on the North's tough pandemic rules, including a Pyongyang lockdown and an execution of an official caught breaking restrictions. (Image credit: Jon Chol Jin/AP)

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Priya Chidambaram of the Kaiser Family Foundation about their findings that more than 100,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities have died of COVID-19.

Health workers and hospitals already strained by the pandemic are increasingly making direct appeals to the public with open letters, asking people to mask up and stay at home this holiday season.

Shoppers encountered temperature checks and mall Santas behind plexiglas shields. But online sales may have stolen the show. (Image credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)

A national nurses union is raising alarm about a shortage of masks and gowns as hospitals enter the combined flu and COVID-19 season.

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Reed Tuckson, one of the health care workers behind the Black Coalition Against COVID-19. They want the Black community to embrace future COVID-19 vaccines.

Government scientists estimate that the true number of coronavirus infections is eight times the reported number of 12.5 million, meaning "most of the country remains at risk," the team reports. (Image credit: David J. Phillip/AP)

Denver mayor is the latest politician to come under fire for flouting his health safety recommendations — he flew to Mississippi for Thanksgiving despite asking Coloradans not to travel.

After admitting the preliminary results of the clinical trial were a mistake, AstraZeneca is now facing many questions about the coronavirus vaccine it has developed with the University of Oxford.

Instead of traveling the traditional 2.5-mile-route through New York City's Midtown, the Thanksgiving Day parade will take place in front of Macy's department store. (Image credit: Mary Altaffer/AP)

The safest way to have Thanksgiving this year is to stay in your social bubble. But those traveling to gather with friends and loved ones should keep pandemic safety guidelines in mind. (Image credit: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The medicines from Eli Lilly and Regeneron are infused, a process that can take two hours or longer, including observation for side effects. Staffing is as big an issue as the supply of the drugs. (Image credit: Erin Clark/Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Hospitals are figuring out how to administer drugs that are designed to treat people with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The drugs are in short supply, and there is no guarantee they will work.

The government is allocating the first batch of coronavirus vaccines based on population, ignoring a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposal to distribute them based on high-risk groups.

About half of Defense Dept. installations worldwide have implemented travel restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect America's fighting forces. It's making for a tough holiday. (Image credit: Courtesy Alphonso family)

Hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they're having to resort to workarounds to treat them all. Experts warn this may hamper doctors' ability to save lives. (Image credit: Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

Ernest Grant, the president of the American Nurses Association, says historical abuses have left Black people with a distrust of vaccines. Now he's part of a coronavirus vaccine trial. (Image credit: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)

To turn around the current jump in coronavirus cases, epidemiologist Ellie Murray says governments need to focus on the places that are driving the spread, like restaurants and bars. (Image credit: mathisworks/Getty Images)

Operation Warp Speed is allocating the first batch of 6.4 million COVID vaccines to states, based on population. This circumvents a CDC advisory committee, which proposed allocation based on risk. (Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)