Left to right: An illustration of the coronavirus, an illustration of the delta variant and a mural in India. Hanna Barczyk for NPR / Juan Gaertner/Science Source / Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images hide caption
Infectious Disease : Goats and Soda Infectious Disease
Goats and Soda
STORIES OF LIFE IN A CHANGING WORLDInfectious Disease
Sunday
Friday
A Santa Claus in Germany wears a surgical mask in December 2020. If you're planning to take the kids to see Santa this year, experts say it's safest to keep everyone's masks on. Caroline Seidel/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption
Friday
Fever is a possible side effect of a COVID19 vaccine. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption
Thursday
Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa, left, and her mom, Anne Sikwibele, at the airport in Lusaka, Zambia, in November. Musiitwa, who lives in Washington, D.C., is worried that her mom may not be able to visit the U.S. for Christmas. In an effort to stem the spread of the omicron variant, several nations have imposed travel bans on southern African nations, which are in a state of flux. Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa hide caption
Tuesday
An excerpt of an apology made by Bangkok Post on Dec. 4. The Thai media outlet apologized for using racist language in a headline on a Dec. 2 story about the omicron variant. The headline read, "Government hunts for African visitors." Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Saturday
Margarita Ahuanari, left, and Karina Ahuanari look at posters of their mother. The images were placed where they think she was buried at the mass grave that was later renamed the COVID-19 Cemetery in Iquitos. Angela Ponce for NPR hide caption
A mass COVID grave in Peru has left families bereft — and fighting for reburial
Wednesday
Here's a computer-generated image of the omicron variant of the coronavirus — also known as B.1.1.529. Reported in South Africa on Nov. 24, this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Uma Shankar Sharma/Getty Images hide caption
Tuesday
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in August. He called on Western nations on Sunday to scrap travel restrictions placed on southern Africa to stem the spread of the omicron variant. "The prohibition of travel is not informed by science nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant," he said. Tobias Schwarz/Reuters hide caption
A man receives a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Soweto, South Africa. The omicron variant of the coronavirus, first identified in South Africa, has now spread to at least a dozen other countries. On Friday, scientists presented evidence that the variant spreads twice as fast as the delta variant. Denis Farrell/AP hide caption
New evidence shows omicron likely spreads twice as fast as delta in South Africa
Thursday
Wednesday
A graphic showing projected increasing vaccine stockpile. NPR hide caption
Why low income countries are so short on COVID vaccines. Hint: It's not boosters
A new study suggests that white-tailed deer, like the one here, could carry the virus SARS-CoV-2 indefinitely and spread it back to humans periodically. Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images hide caption
How SARS-CoV-2 in American deer could alter the course of the global pandemic
Tuesday
From left: A New Delhi woman waits in an observation room after getting the Covishield vaccine (the name used for the AstraZeneca vaccine in India) on May 26. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves a vaccination center after his first AstraZeneca dose on March 19. On March 9, Nairobi, Kenya, began vaccinating groups, including health care workers and older people, with the AstraZeneca vaccine. From left: Prakash Singh, Aaron Chown, Robert Bonet/Getty Images hide caption
It's The Vaccine That's Lost A Lot Of Trust. But AstraZeneca Still Has Its Fans
Friday
An older person receives their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thika, Kenya. The vaccine's manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, announced this week that it will freeze all exports of the vaccine through the end of this year — leaving 20 million people in Africa without a source for their second dose. Patrick Meinhardt/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption