Selena Simmons-Duffin Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on health policy for NPR.
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
A mother holds her 1-year-old son as he receives the child Covid-19 vaccine in his thigh at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Mass., on June 21, 2022. The temple was one of the first sites in the state to offer vaccinations to anyone in the public. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an abortion case this week. The court's conservative justices are overturning Roe v. Wade. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
People walk past a COVID testing site on May 17 in New York City. New York's health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, has moved from a "medium" COVID-19 alert level to a "high" alert level in all the five boroughs following a surge in cases. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
This is how many lives could have been saved with COVID vaccinations in each state
Rachel Levine, U.S. assistant secretary for health, says, "The language of medicine and science is being used to drive people to suicide." Political attacks against trans young people are on the rise across the country. Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Rachel Levine calls state anti-LGBTQ bills disturbing and dangerous to trans youth
Jerome Adams, who served as Trump's U.S. surgeon general, says he hopes that coming out of the pandemic, people can have a healthier respect for the scientific process. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Mask mandates on public transportation are no longer in effect following a ruling by federal judge on Monday. The federal government says it will appeal the ruling but is taking its time doing so. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of the federal mask mandate, sit during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport to Denver, on Tuesday. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The CDC's mask mandate for public transportation has been reversed
There are parallels between COVID and HIV. Despite effective treatment and prevention tools, preventable deaths continue because of difficulties reaching out to and educating people about the tools. And even as the country seems determined to move on from the pandemic, as of April 2022, someone dies of COVID-19 every four minutes in the U.S. Ron Frehm/AP hide caption