Health

Getting Back to Normal Is Only Possible Until You Test Positive

I was ultracareful for 18 months. Then I got COVID.

Parents Still Have a Thanksgiving Problem

A first COVID shot will give kids some protection, but none of them will be fully vaccinated until the beginning of December.

COVID-Vaccine Mandates for Kids Are Coming

But are they a good idea?

You’re Boosted! Now What?

No one knows exactly what the rules are for post-booster behavior.

The Pandemic Is Still Making Us Feel Terrible

Turns out, it’s hard to adjust to a new normal when that new normal keeps changing.

The Myth of Root Canals

Good news: They are no longer terrible.

America Has Lost the Plot on COVID

We’re avoiding the hardest questions about living with the coronavirus long term.

The Cancer Celebrities

Why I love Farrah Fawcett and hate Sheryl Crow

If Silence Is the Cost of Great Ramen, So Be It

Japan’s restaurants are taking COVID precautions to a whole new level.

Is Moderna Really Better Than Pfizer—Or Is It Just a Higher Dose?

It’s possible that a good deal of the difference in the shots’ performance can be summed up with a simple phrase: More is better.

Five Big Questions About COVID Vaccines for Kids

With FDA authorization for a kid-size COVID vaccine pending, a pediatrician and infectious-disease expert weighs in on what’s next.

How Public Health Took Part in Its Own Downfall

The field’s future lies in reclaiming parts of its past that it willingly abandoned.

No One Will Stop You From Getting Whatever Booster You Want

The CDC indicated that it would move toward a hands-off stance: Booster-eligible people should stick with one brand, but may mix and match at will.

The Good Part About ‘Waning’ Immunity

You might have fewer antibodies now. But they’re better than the ones you started with.

The Self-Help That No One Needs Right Now

The pandemic has boosted interest in trauma books full of advice that isn’t particularly relevant to what most Americans are going through.

‘I Don’t Know That I Would Even Call It Meth Anymore’

Different chemically than it was a decade ago, the drug is creating a wave of severe mental illness and worsening America’s homelessness problem.

America Stopped Treating Health-Care Workers Like Heroes

Hospital staff say they're facing a violence crisis.

Should You Mix and Match Your Booster Shot?

We know more than ever about how to use boosters, but still very little about when to use them.

We Accidentally Solved the Flu. Now What?

America has a choice to make.

Nine Pandemic Words That Almost No One Gets Right

Actually, you’re probably not in quarantine.