Joe Palca

The federal government on Tuesday announced grants for the development and manufacture of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 totaling over $2 billion.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni was head of the National Institutes of Health under President George W. Bush. He says the Trump administration's response to the pandemic has not protected the American people.

Some of the technology behind coronavirus vaccine development dates back to the first vaccines; other techniques are much newer. Here are some of the approaches.

Some of the technology behind coronavirus vaccine development dates back to the first vaccines; other techniques are much newer. Here are eight top strategies scientists are pursuing.

The approach of taking blood plasma from people who have recovered and giving it to patients still suffering from a disease has been used for centuries. Now it's being used on COVID-19 patients.

Cattle may turn out to be of help in the coronavirus pandemic. A South Dakota biotech company is using cows to create antibodies that could then be used for disease prevention or treatment.

A low-cost anti-inflammatory drug appears to reduce the risk of death in patients with COVID-19. The promising result comes from a large study of therapies being conducted in the U.K.

A South Dakota biotech company is using cows to create antibodies that could then be used for disease prevention or treatment. The cows have been given the genes to make a human-like immune system.

Emergency use authorization makes it easier for doctors to use a drug in a manner not specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA granted these drugs this status in March.

While only remdesivir has been scientifically shown to help treat COVID-19, it is not a particularly effective drug. More drugs like it and fundamentally different ones are in the pipeline.

There is only one drug that researchers say has been scientifically shown to help COVID-19: remdesivir. But it is not proven to reduce mortality. So, researchers keep looking for other treatments.

To speed vaccine production from years to months, companies must start making a vaccine in large quantities even before it's clear a vaccine works.

A study of more than 800 health workers, first responders and others finds that taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 is no better than a placebo in preventing the illness.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the pace and process needed to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine.

In the 1950s, as Dr. Jonas Salk and virologist Albert Sabin worked to create a vaccine to prevent infantile paralysis, the threat from polio was already long familiar to Americans.

People in the 1950s anxiously waited for scientists to come up with ways to protect children from polio. The road to a polio vaccine might contain some lessons for today's health crisis.

Three studies published Wednesday suggest it should be possible to come up with a coronavirus vaccine — tests performed on animals have shown the right results to prove a vaccine could be possible.

NPR's science correspondent answers listener questions about the latest in the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine.

The impact of the drug on the virus is being studied, but there is not yet evidence from medical trials — and there have been some warnings about side effects from taking the medicine.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna, Inc., is reporting preliminary data suggesting its COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and appears to be triggering an immune response in test subjects.