Antibody-based drugs that bind to the coronavirus to prevent it from invading cells can help patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. But the medicines can be tough to find in time.
Even if the Biden administration releases all available doses of COVID-19 vaccines, supplies will remain limited. How best to use that limited supply is a question mathematicians can help answer.
In Alaska, the coronavirus vaccine is heading to tiny villages on small planes and snow machines. The massive undertaking echoes previous efforts to get vaccines to remote corners of the state.
The U.S. is reporting more than 271,000 new cases each day. Congress' attending physician says lawmakers who sheltered in place last week may have been exposed to the virus.
A coronavirus surge is overwhelming hospitals, leading doctors to tell families to care for sick loved ones at home instead. Health workers fear New Year's parties could have led to further spikes.
The newly detected strain — dubbed B.1.1.7 — appears to be more contagious. What precautions might be effective in trying to keep from getting infected?
Some rural areas, where health care is usually harder to get, appear to be leading the nation in delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. But health leaders are cautioning there are caveats.
"The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday.
In an NPR interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, said changes in vaccine distribution could be necessary depending on what happens in the next few weeks.
While logistical challenges have hampered use of antibody drugs to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, recent results show the medicines can be worthwhile.
"Now we are working at full speed to approve it & make it available in the EU," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is be the second vaccine to get EU authorization.
The crisis starts around 2 a.m. at a hospital in Mendocino County, Calif. A compressor gives out, giving the staff two hours to use the coronavirus vaccines before they are declared unusable.