vaccination

A dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. When an unvaccinated person is exposed to measles, public health guidance if for them to get vaccinated within three days. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

Student pharmacist Charles Liu administered a dose of mpox vaccine at a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health clinic in West Hollywood, Calif., last August. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

U.S. infectious disease experts fear that a winter surge of respiratory illness — like the one that overloaded emergency rooms with COVID-19 patients in January 2021 — could yet materialize this winter, with several circulating viruses wreaking havoc. So far, though, it looks like early peaks of RSV and the flu are receding. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

Minda Dentler handcycling at mile 32 of The Kona Ironman in Hawaii, 2013. She's the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship. When she was an infant, her legs were paralyzed by polio. "I wish all people who may be on the fence about vaccination could really meet me," she says. "I'm a reminder to families that they should vaccinate their children." Kevin Charboneau hide caption

Patricia Neves (left) and Ana Paula Ano Bom helped launch a global project to revolutionize access to mRNA technology. Ian Cheibub for NPR hide caption

Patricia Neves (left) and Ana Paula Ano Bom take a break at the institute in Rio de Janeiro where they work. The two scientists say they've been inseparable since they met in college. Now their friendship has made it possible to launch a remarkable partnership to make mRNA vaccines accessible to the world. Ian Cheibub for NPR hide caption

A resident receives a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a health center in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 13. This week, Indonesia started a program to give booster shots to the elderly and people at risk of severe disease. Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Licensed practical nurse Yokasta Castro, of Warwick, R.I., draws a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe. The vaccines have now been linked to minor changes in menstruation, but are still considered safe. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

Students head to class this month in Thornton, Colo. Infectious disease experts say the decline in vaccination rates against childhood diseases during the pandemic has increased the potential for outbreaks of diseases once largely vanquished in the United States. RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images hide caption