The CDC Is Gambling On Relaxed Mask Rules To Get More People Vaccinated Fully vaccinated people got the green light last week to resume much of their lives without masks. Behavioral experts say that as an incentive to get more people vaccinated, it's far from a sure bet. Yuki Noguchi
Fauci Says He Expects Vaccines For Younger Children By The End Of Year Or Early 2022 "If I had grandchildren, I would certainly recommend they get vaccinated," President Biden's chief medical adviser said. COVID-19 vaccines for younger children are being tested in clinical trials now. Merrit Kennedy
Brazil Senate Examines Government's Handling Of Pandemic As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in Brazil, an inquiry is underway. An army general, who served as health minister, testified to senators determined to hold the government accountable. Philip Reeves
A New, Infectious Coronavirus Is Detected In Malaysia – And It's Coming From Dogs A previously unknown novel coronavirus capable of infecting people has been discovered in Borneo, says a team of researchers from Duke University. Michaeleen Doucleff
Democrats And Republicans Square Off Over House Mask Mandate In a scene that reflects broader tensions in America, Republicans this week began a fight to scrap mask requirements on the House floor. Alana Wise
Pfizer Vaccine Can Stay Longer At Lower Temperatures Before Being Discarded The FDA has authorized storing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at refrigerator temperatures for up to a month. Previously the vaccine could only be kept in a regular fridge for up to 5 days. Jane Greenhalgh
After A Year At Home, Listeners Ask Us 'How To Human' Again As people start to re-emerge from isolation, there's a lot to navigate and re-learn. Dr. Lucy McBride and theologian Ekemini Uwan field questions from listeners about how to navigate our new reality. Courtney Dorning
What Is This COVAX Program That The U.S. Is Pouring Millions Of Vaccines Into? President Biden said the U.S. is distributing them not to curry favor with allies, but to end the pandemic everywhere. And he's doing it through COVAX. Jason Beaubien
Lawmakers Grill Vaccine Factory Executives About Manufacturing Mistakes House subcommittee members questioned why Emergent BioSoultions awarded bonuses to executives despite quality problems than hindered production of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. Sydney Lupkin
The Governor Of Texas Has Signed A Law That Bans Abortion As Early As 6 Weeks The new law prohibits abortion the moment a fetal heartbeat has been detected, before many women are even aware that they are pregnant. Sarah McCammon