COVID-19
18 Face Masks We Actually Like to Wear
Our tips and picks to up your mask game—whether you’re heading back to the office or just want to stay safe and stylish.
How to Get a Covid-19 Booster Shot
Here's everything you need to know about finding and receiving the booster shot in the age of Omicron.
Sick Pet? These Are the Best Virtual Vet Services
These days, your pet can get medical help without leaving home. These are our favorite televet services.
13 Face Masks Your Kids May Actually Wear
Your child still needs to cover up for school and group play. These are the styles my little ones will tolerate.
How to Order Your Free At-Home Covid-19 Tests
The US government is finally sending 4 at-home tests to every household. Here's how to get yours, and how to troubleshoot common problems.
10 Rapid At-Home Covid-19 Tests—and Where to Find Them
How accurate are rapid at-home tests? Does your insurance cover them? We have answers.
10 Good N95, KN95, and Surgical Face Masks to Buy Right Now
Here are the best disposable masks we've tested and researched so far—and where you can find them.
He Made a Covid-Zapping Video Game. Then He Fought Covid for Real
An indie developer made a shoot-em-up game where the player battles giant viruses. Shortly before the game's release, he wound up in the hospital.
Inside the Student-Led Covid Walkouts
US high school students are demanding safer classrooms, and they’re mobilizing through group chats, Google Docs, and homespun social media campaigns.
When It Comes to Health Care, AI Has a Long Way to Go
Medical information is more complex and less available than the web data that many algorithms were trained on, so results can be misleading.
A Pandemic Historian Warns Us All to Stop Looking at the Past
Being trapped in my own quarantine reminded me of how little we’ve learned.
Pregnant People Are Still Not Getting Vaccinated Against Covid
Misinformation and muddled public health messaging have failed expectant parents. Now Omicron's surge is putting both carriers and babies at risk.
As Omicron Surges, Parents of the Youngest Kids Wait for Vaccines
With vaccine authorization months away and schools in chaos now, families fret over how best to protect their children.
This AI Software Nearly Predicted Omicron’s Tricky Structure
New algorithms that decipher complex sequences of amino acids offered an early view of the coronavirus variant. They could point the way to future drugs.
This Is the Year of the Shadow Pandemic
The long-tail consequences of fighting Covid-19 must be mitigated—in education, women’s rights, climate, and more.
Covid Will Become Endemic. The World Must Decide What That Means
The task of 2022 will be figuring out how much action we’re willing to take and how much disease and death we’ll tolerate.
The Pandemic Might Have Redesigned Cities Forever
Changes small and large—parklets, outdoor restaurants, bike lanes—could remake our relationship to cities (and help fix climate change).
The Shady Business of Selling Futures
Futurists want to sell you your own uncertainty—and the more uncertain you are, the more lucrative a crystal ball gets.
Surprise! The Pandemic Has Made People More Science Literate
Despite rampant misinformation, Covid-19 has pushed science into the zeitgeist, as people have absorbed new words and how scientific discovery actually works.
2021 Was a Huge Missed Opportunity on Climate Action
The pandemic should have been a wake-up call—instead, emissions have climbed once more. Here's how the US could have seized the opportunity.
2021 Revealed the Depths of Global Vaccine Inequity
Previous pandemics saw rich countries grabbing up vaccine supplies, leaving poor countries behind. Has the world learned nothing since?
I Thought Tech Would Take a Pandemic Hit. I Was Wrong
Plus: Digital forgetting, concerns over TikTok and China, and the prescience of king tides.
18 Hours of Omicron Chaos at Schiphol Airport
On November 25, two planes took off from South Africa for Amsterdam. By the time they landed, the Omicron variant had thrown the world into chaos.
How Science Will Solve the Omicron Variant’s Mysteries
So far, panic about the mysterious new Covid variant has outpaced actual information. Here’s what scientists around the world are trying to uncover.