coronavirus faqs

A 8-year-old looks out her bedroom window during self-quarantine with her family due to COVID-19. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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

Fever is a possible side effect of a COVID19 vaccine. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

A 3D-generated image of the coronavirus variant of concern known as omicron. The little bumps are spike proteins (see definition below). Uma Shankar Sharma/Getty Images hide caption

Nurse Sandra Lindsay celebrates after receiving her COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine booster at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York in October. Lindsay was the first person known to receive a COVID vaccine in the United States vaccination campaign — on Dec. 14, 2020. Her vaccination card is displayed at the COVID-19 exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Lev Radin/Pacific Press via Getty Images hide caption

Wash your hands. A lot. That's the message from public health specialists as cold and flu season arrives. Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Image hide caption