The coronavirus variant discovered in India has a new name: Delta.

By BY BENJAMIN MUELLER from NYT Health The W.H.O. said it will label variants with Greek letters instead of numbers. Scientists hope the change will end the practice of referring to the mutations by the places they were detected. https://ift.tt/34NruAZ

Never mind all the dots and numbers: The W.H.O. is giving variants Greek letters for names.

By BY BENJAMIN MUELLER from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3fCBnYb

A Vaccine Side Effect Leaves Women Wondering: Why Isn’t the Pill Safer?

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Scientists were alarmed by blood clots possibly linked to the J&J vaccine. Some women wondered if there shouldn’t be more concern about oral contraceptives. https://ift.tt/3c4u0GJ

A Glut of Chinese Masks Are Driving U.S. Companies Out of Business

By BY ANDREW JACOBS from NYT Health Remember when N95s were in short supply? American companies stepped in to manufacture them. Now, they can’t compete. https://ift.tt/2R39D5H

The C.D.C. says unvaccinated children at U.S. camps can go without masks most of the time when they are outside.

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health Federal health officials also said that camps where all staff and campers are vaccinated can drop many restrictions, including masks, and return to full capacity. https://ift.tt/3vxrTDe

Poor Americans More Likely to Have Respiratory Problems, Study Finds

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health Despite improvements in air quality and other advances, low-income Americans more often have asthma, lung disease and related illnesses. https://ift.tt/3c10MIY

70 Percent Covid Vaccination Rate May Be in Reach, New Poll Suggests

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health The survey found big increases over last month in Latinos getting the shot and in unvaccinated people who say they have made an appointment. https://ift.tt/3uEHHmx

70 Percent Covid Vaccination Rate May Be in Reach, New Poll Suggests

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health The survey found big increases over last month in Latinos getting the shot and in unvaccinated people who say they have made an appointment. https://ift.tt/3hY2puC

Scientists Don’t Want to Ignore the ‘Lab Leak’ Theory, Despite No New Evidence

By BY CARL ZIMMER, JAMES GORMAN AND BENJAMIN MUELLER from NYT Health Many scientists welcomed President Biden’s call for a more rigorous investigation of a virus lab in Wuhan, China, though they said the so-called lab leak theory was still unlikely. https://ift.tt/3p0zsjd

Scientists Don’t Want to Ignore the ‘Lab Leak’ Theory, Despite No New Evidence

By BY CARL ZIMMER, JAMES GORMAN AND BENJAMIN MUELLER from NYT Health Many scientists welcomed President Biden’s call for a more rigorous investigation of a virus lab in Wuhan, China, though they said the so-called lab leak theory was still unlikely. https://ift.tt/3fP0x4S

Judge Clears Purdue Pharma’s Restructuring Plan for Vote by Thousands of Claimants

By BY JAN HOFFMAN AND MARY WILLIAMS WALSH from NYT Health The ruling was a milestone in yearslong efforts to make the OxyContin manufacturer pay for its role in the opioid crisis, but some plaintiffs feel the plan doesn’t go far enough. https://ift.tt/3hVRIZv

Immunity to the coronavirus may persist for years, scientists find.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3vr5ZRR

Immunity to the Coronavirus May Persist for Years, Scientists Find

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Important immune cells survive in the bone marrow of people who were infected with the virus or were inoculated against it, new research suggests. https://ift.tt/3oTj5Fc

Moderna Vaccine Highly Effective in Adolescents, Company Says

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health The U.S., which has a surplus of vaccines, could soon have two options for teens while many countries face shortages. https://ift.tt/3bSVTle

The C.D.C. won’t investigate all post-vaccine infections, just those that result in hospitalizations or deaths.

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3vy8nGs

C.D.C. Will Not Investigate Mild Infections in Vaccinated Americans

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health At least 10,000 vaccinated people were infected with the coronavirus through the end of April. Now the agency has stopped pursuing the mildest cases. https://ift.tt/3fMWzJN

C.D.C. Will Not Investigate Mild Infections in Vaccinated Americans

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health At least 10,000 vaccinated people were infected with the coronavirus through the end of April. Now the agency has stopped pursuing the mildest cases. https://ift.tt/3oO16zW

Mount Sinai Seeks to Expand School Virus Testing Program

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health The health system, which is preparing to open a new laboratory that could process 100,000 tests a day, wants to take its program to public schools this fall. https://ift.tt/3bUUR8m

Children With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome May Overcome Their Most Serious Symptoms

By BY PAM BELLUCK from NYT Health A small study found that six months after hospitalization, most children with MIS-C did not have debilitating health issues. But some had lingering muscle weakness and emotional difficulties. https://ift.tt/3bNfu6c

Children With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome May Overcome Their Most Serious Symptoms

By BY PAM BELLUCK from NYT Health A small study found that six months after hospitalization, most children with MIS-C did not have debilitating health issues. But some had lingering muscle weakness and emotional difficulties. https://ift.tt/3oKl52B

Stop Kissing and Snuggling Chickens, C.D.C. Says After Salmonella Outbreak

By BY DERRICK BRYSON TAYLOR from NYT Health More than 160 illnesses and dozens of hospitalizations have been reported across 43 states, officials said. “These are not house pets and a lot of people confuse that,” a poultry educator said. https://ift.tt/3fKzTd8

C.D.C. Is Investigating a Heart Problem in a Few Young Vaccine Recipients

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The agency is reviewing several dozen reports that teenagers and young adults may have developed myocarditis after vaccination, officials said. But the agency has not determined whether the vaccine caused the condition. https://ift.tt/3fFYUXa

Ventilation and surveillance testing can help keep U.S. schools open in the fall, new studies suggest.

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health They studies follow recent federal guidance that all schools teaching students from kindergarten through grade 12 should continue to implement mask-wearing policies through the end of the current school year. https://ift.tt/3f7l4SR

Family Caregivers Feel the Pandemic’s Weight

By BY PAULA SPAN from NYT Health Early studies reveal the toll that lockdowns, isolation and stress have taken on those who care for older Americans. https://ift.tt/3yqJy1b

Severe Covid Is More Often Fatal in Africa Than in Other Regions

By BY DENISE GRADY from NYT Health Inadequate treatment for critically ill patients contributed to higher death rates in Africa, compared to other parts of the world, a study found. https://ift.tt/3uaQADL

The Latest Coronavirus Comes From Dogs

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health A newly identified coronavirus may not pose a serious threat, but the finding highlights the need to monitor animal viruses more proactively, scientists say. https://ift.tt/343eeYs

Vaccinations dramatically reduce the rate of new infections in U.S. nursing homes, according to a new study.

By BY MATT RICHTEL from NYT Health The findings conform to recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the protective benefit of vaccination. https://ift.tt/3otdkhi

What Can and Can’t Be Learned From a Doctor in China Who Pioneered Masks

By BY WUDAN YAN from NYT Health Dr. Wu Lien-Teh helped change the course of a plague epidemic in the early 20th century and promoted the use of masks as a public health tool. https://ift.tt/3oHSye5

A senior C.D.C. official is departing, the second such resignation this month.

By BY ABBY GOODNOUGH from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3tVVFjh

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are powerfully effective against Covid-19, a C.D.C. analysis confirmed.

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health A new study of 1,800 health care workers confirms that the vaccines are working well in the real world, outside clinical trials. https://ift.tt/3bt2lzg

Here’s why the C.D.C. changed its mask advice.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/3ygMPjt

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are powerfully effective against Covid-19, a C.D.C. analysis confirmed.

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health A new study of 1,800 health care workers confirms that the vaccines are working well in the real world, outside clinical trials. https://ift.tt/3eP2Xkx

Why the C.D.C. Changed Its Advice on Masks

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Two scientific findings altered the calculus: Vaccinated people don’t transmit the virus, and the shots are effective against variants. https://ift.tt/3btOVCR

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are powerfully effective against Covid-19, a C.D.C. analysis confirmed.

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health A new study of 1,800 health care workers confirms that the vaccines are working well in the real world, outside clinical trials. https://ift.tt/3hqxjM0

How the United States Beat the Variants, for Now

By BY CARL ZIMMER AND APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The country has managed to avoid a variant-fueled spike in coronavirus cases. Scientists say we were lucky. https://ift.tt/3bsm1Dc

How the United States Beat the Variants, for Now

By BY CARL ZIMMER AND APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The country has managed to avoid a variant-fueled spike in coronavirus cases. Scientists say we were lucky. https://ift.tt/3brbWGO

‘We have all longed for this moment’: Federal guidance says vaccinated Americans may go without masks.

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN, APOORVA MANDAVILLI AND NOAH WEILAND from NYT Health Fully vaccinated people only need to wear masks in health care settings, on mass transit and in transportation hubs, and in prisons and homeless shelters. https://ift.tt/3odv3cg

Scientists Urge Air Quality Changes in the Workplace, in Wake of Pandemic

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The researchers issued a call to action to improve indoor air quality as a safeguard against the spread of contagions like the coronavirus. https://ift.tt/3y71sWH

Vaccinated Americans now may go without masks in most places, the C.D.C. said.

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN AND APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Fully vaccinated people only need to wear masks in health care settings, on mass transit and in transportation hubs, and in prisons and homeless shelters. https://ift.tt/2SDj0cz

Many Unvaccinated Latinos in the U.S. Want the Shot, New Survey Finds

By BY JAN HOFFMAN from NYT Health Issues of access and fears of employment and immigration consequences have kept their Covid vaccination rates low, the findings suggest. https://ift.tt/33DDX9N

Coronavirus Vaccines Protect Pregnant Women, Another Study Suggests

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health The shots may also have benefits for infants and do not seem to damage the placenta, according to the latest research. https://ift.tt/33GHm7G

C.D.C. approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/2RLJzfi

C.D.C confirms more cases of rare blood clot disorder linked to J.&J. vaccine

By BY EMILY ANTHES from NYT Health Six men were among the latest confirmed cases, which now total 28. Previous cases included only women. https://ift.tt/2SMXh27

The Covid-19 Vaccine and Children

By BY ABBY GOODNOUGH AND APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday for use in children ages 12 to 15. Here’s what to know. https://ift.tt/3of6T1k

A C.D.C. advisory panel recommends the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be made available to 12-to-15-year-olds.

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health https://ift.tt/33B3aS4

C.D.C. Advisers Endorse Pfizer Vaccine for Children Ages 12 to 15

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Immunizations will quickly begin nationwide, officials predicted. https://ift.tt/3fbfqy5

How Hospitals Can Help Patients and the Planet

By BY TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG from NYT Health Health care systems are trying to answer the central question of how to care for patients when climate change threatens their ability to remain open. https://ift.tt/2SK3hbT

Novavax Reports More Delays for Its Covid-19 Vaccine

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health “I don’t see a lot going well for them at this point,” said one analyst. https://ift.tt/3tDDFtS

New Drugs Could Help Treat Obesity. Could They End the Stigma, Too?

By BY GINA KOLATA from NYT Health The hope is that new treatments will encourage people to think of obesity as a chronic disease, like high blood pressure or diabetes. https://ift.tt/3o4uIbO

Is It Covid or the Flu? New Combo Tests Can Find Out.

By BY ROXANNE KHAMSI from NYT Health New tests for respiratory illnesses can look for more than 20 pathogens at a time. https://ift.tt/3o6TmbN