Novel CoronavirusWBUR's ongoing coverage of the new coronavirus.Lagging COVID, flu and RSV vaccination rates concern Mass. health officialsFew people are rolling up their sleeves for the new COVID, flu and RSV vaccines, even as peak respiratory virus season is looming, according to state and federal data.HealthNov 2, 2023Don't give up on the new COVID shot. Federal and Mass. officials say supply is increasingScheduling a COVID vaccine may soon become easier. State and federal health officials said Wednesday that early supply constraints for the updated COVID vaccine are expected to ease by the...HealthOct 4, 2023Q&A: Ashish Jha on the coming virus season and what he learned in the White HouseDr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, discusses what to expect from the coming virus season, when to get the new COVID vaccines and his...HealthSep 19, 2023With masks off in hospitals, people with disabilities weigh the risk of careElderly and disabled people remain at higher risk of getting severely sick from COVID, even as much of society moves on from the pandemic.ResumeHealth04:52Jun 1, 2023State ending COVID public health emergencyTo find out more about what this means for Massachusetts, WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy spoke to Boston University School of Public Health professor Dr. David Hamer.ResumeHealth04:33May 10, 2023AdvertisementMasks will become optional for most hospital patients, visitors and staffThe move represents a broad policy shift to managing COVID less as a crisis and more as a routine health issue, more than three years since the start of the...HealthMay 5, 2023Major hospitals reach a new milestone: Zero COVID patientsThe milestones were temporary. But they represent a remarkable change from earlier periods of the pandemic, when hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID patients.HealthMay 3, 2023Mass. health insurers say they'll stop providing free at-home COVID testsThe state’s biggest health insurers have decided to stop providing free over-the-counter COVID tests next month, a move that could force many people to pay out of pocket.HealthApr 21, 2023Watching the wastewater: Mass. COVID at lowest level in a yearA new study out of Massachusetts also suggests the coronavirus has become less dangerous, leading to fewer hospitalizations and deaths.HealthApr 14, 2023Healey will end the COVID vaccination mandate for state workers, state health emergencyGov. Maura Healey said the vaccination requirement saved “countless lives." But she said it’s time to update the state’s COVID response.HealthMar 15, 2023It's been 3 years since Mass. declared a COVID-19 emergency. Here's a look at where things standTo look back, and talk about where we are now, Department of Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke joined WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy.ResumeHealth04:15Mar 10, 2023Massachusetts to close free COVID testing sites, citing declining demandState and federal policy changes mark a new phase in the pandemic response, but they could make it harder for people to access COVID tests.HealthMar 7, 2023BU researchers discover a mutation that may be weakening COVIDTheir work, published in the journal Nature, suggests that a protein mutation — in addition to changes in the virus's spike protein — played an important role in omicron's ability...HealthJan 12, 2023It's the third winter of COVID. But this one is differentThe health care system is under stress — but not just because of COVID patients.ResumeHealth04:48Jan 9, 2023Marylou Sudders, state's health secretary and COVID-19 response leader, announces retirementSudders was part of Gov. Charlie Baker's cabinet throughout his two terms. In a newsletter announcing her decision, she said one of her predecessors had pointed out she was the...HealthDec 19, 2022Bump or spike? COVID in wastewater has experts unsurprised but waryAs people gathered with loved ones over Thanksgiving, data suggests the virus had an opportunity to spread. But so far hospitals have seen only modest increases in patients hospitalized or...HealthDec 6, 2022In second year of COVID, study finds fewer deaths but more years of life lostIn 2021, 21% fewer people died of COVID than in 2020. But there were 500,000 more years of life lost, researchers found. The reason is that more younger people were...HealthDec 1, 2022Boston officials report elevated coronavirus levels in wastewaterThe concentration of the virus in local wastewater has increased by 3.1% over the past week and by nearly 100% over the past two weeks, according to new data from...HealthOct 10, 2022Doctors urge COVID vaccination ahead of winter, but worry about weak demandHealth care providers across Massachusetts are gearing up for a fall campaign to vaccinate people with new COVID boosters that promise to provide better protection against the latest strains of...HealthSep 19, 2022Omicron booster shots now available in Mass.WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy was joined now by Dr. Ofer Levy, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases at Boston Children's Hospital and a member of the FDA COVID...ResumeHealth05:56Sep 8, 2022Next Page
Lagging COVID, flu and RSV vaccination rates concern Mass. health officialsFew people are rolling up their sleeves for the new COVID, flu and RSV vaccines, even as peak respiratory virus season is looming, according to state and federal data.HealthNov 2, 2023
Don't give up on the new COVID shot. Federal and Mass. officials say supply is increasingScheduling a COVID vaccine may soon become easier. State and federal health officials said Wednesday that early supply constraints for the updated COVID vaccine are expected to ease by the...HealthOct 4, 2023
Q&A: Ashish Jha on the coming virus season and what he learned in the White HouseDr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, discusses what to expect from the coming virus season, when to get the new COVID vaccines and his...HealthSep 19, 2023
With masks off in hospitals, people with disabilities weigh the risk of careElderly and disabled people remain at higher risk of getting severely sick from COVID, even as much of society moves on from the pandemic.ResumeHealth04:52Jun 1, 2023
State ending COVID public health emergencyTo find out more about what this means for Massachusetts, WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy spoke to Boston University School of Public Health professor Dr. David Hamer.ResumeHealth04:33May 10, 2023
Masks will become optional for most hospital patients, visitors and staffThe move represents a broad policy shift to managing COVID less as a crisis and more as a routine health issue, more than three years since the start of the...HealthMay 5, 2023
Major hospitals reach a new milestone: Zero COVID patientsThe milestones were temporary. But they represent a remarkable change from earlier periods of the pandemic, when hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID patients.HealthMay 3, 2023
Mass. health insurers say they'll stop providing free at-home COVID testsThe state’s biggest health insurers have decided to stop providing free over-the-counter COVID tests next month, a move that could force many people to pay out of pocket.HealthApr 21, 2023
Watching the wastewater: Mass. COVID at lowest level in a yearA new study out of Massachusetts also suggests the coronavirus has become less dangerous, leading to fewer hospitalizations and deaths.HealthApr 14, 2023
Healey will end the COVID vaccination mandate for state workers, state health emergencyGov. Maura Healey said the vaccination requirement saved “countless lives." But she said it’s time to update the state’s COVID response.HealthMar 15, 2023
It's been 3 years since Mass. declared a COVID-19 emergency. Here's a look at where things standTo look back, and talk about where we are now, Department of Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke joined WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy.ResumeHealth04:15Mar 10, 2023
Massachusetts to close free COVID testing sites, citing declining demandState and federal policy changes mark a new phase in the pandemic response, but they could make it harder for people to access COVID tests.HealthMar 7, 2023
BU researchers discover a mutation that may be weakening COVIDTheir work, published in the journal Nature, suggests that a protein mutation — in addition to changes in the virus's spike protein — played an important role in omicron's ability...HealthJan 12, 2023
It's the third winter of COVID. But this one is differentThe health care system is under stress — but not just because of COVID patients.ResumeHealth04:48Jan 9, 2023
Marylou Sudders, state's health secretary and COVID-19 response leader, announces retirementSudders was part of Gov. Charlie Baker's cabinet throughout his two terms. In a newsletter announcing her decision, she said one of her predecessors had pointed out she was the...HealthDec 19, 2022
Bump or spike? COVID in wastewater has experts unsurprised but waryAs people gathered with loved ones over Thanksgiving, data suggests the virus had an opportunity to spread. But so far hospitals have seen only modest increases in patients hospitalized or...HealthDec 6, 2022
In second year of COVID, study finds fewer deaths but more years of life lostIn 2021, 21% fewer people died of COVID than in 2020. But there were 500,000 more years of life lost, researchers found. The reason is that more younger people were...HealthDec 1, 2022
Boston officials report elevated coronavirus levels in wastewaterThe concentration of the virus in local wastewater has increased by 3.1% over the past week and by nearly 100% over the past two weeks, according to new data from...HealthOct 10, 2022
Doctors urge COVID vaccination ahead of winter, but worry about weak demandHealth care providers across Massachusetts are gearing up for a fall campaign to vaccinate people with new COVID boosters that promise to provide better protection against the latest strains of...HealthSep 19, 2022
Omicron booster shots now available in Mass.WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy was joined now by Dr. Ofer Levy, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases at Boston Children's Hospital and a member of the FDA COVID...ResumeHealth05:56Sep 8, 2022
