When cancer survivor Katie Ripley got pneumonia, the 25-bed hospital in her small town didn't have the specialized care she needed. But with omicron surging, there was no ICU bed to transfer her to.
An anti-vaccine group known for spreading medical disinformation is writing prescriptions for unproven COVID-19 treatments, with the help of a doctor whose medical license was revoked in Alabama.
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can vanish briefly in the face of stress or a strong emotion. Now scientists are searching for a treatment based on this phenomenon, a form of the placebo effect.
The antiviral infusion was just revived as an early treatment for COVID patients. But the drug is relatively expensive and hard to administer, relegating it to what some are calling "stopgap" status.
The remedy is a new type of transcranial magnetic stimulation that's showing good results in just five days of treatment. For some patients, it's life-changing.
Slammed by COVID-19, many U.S. hospitals have put off essential procedures. Delays are leading to consequences like heart attacks and sending people to emergency rooms to get care.
Some mental health providers object to the new requirement, which is part of the No Surprises Act. They say giving detailed cost estimates could discourage patients from getting care.
Mississippi voters approved a medical marijuana initiative in November 2020 but the state Supreme Court invalidated it six months later, ruling the measure was not put properly on the ballot.
NPR has obtained the government's $5.3 billion contract for the first 10 million courses of Paxlovid, an antiviral pill for COVID-19. Here's what's in it.
The first big hurdle was crossed when Pfizer shared its clinical trial data with the FDA. Now there are five more steps to get through before this vulnerable population can be vaccinated.
Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. But sometimes the usually helpful cells go into overdrive and damage the brain, researchers say.
People who get infected with omicron are less likely to go to the hospital, go on a ventilator or die. But with the current huge volume of patients, hospitals are still struggling to treat them all.
The roughly 7 million Americans who are immunocompromised — including many people with disabilities — live with much higher risk of COVID-19, and near-constant vigilance.
The Food and Drug Administration is curbing the use of two out of three monoclonal antibody treatments because new data shows they aren't effective against the omicron variant.
So far the government has distributed about 300,000 doses of Evusheld, a new drug that protects against COVID-19. Some 7 million Americans could benefit from the drug right away.
