Selena Simmons-Duffin

Even with encouraging early results from a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine candidate, it will be many months before a vaccine is widely available. Here's why.

NPR discusses how the Biden administration's approach to health care would be different from President Trump's.

The Trump administration has been marked by a scaled-back federal investment and involvement in U.S. health care. Biden's team has plans to change that — even if Republicans retain Senate control.

Where are hospitals reaching capacity? Which metro areas are running out of beds? NPR has learned federal agencies collect and analyze this information in detail but don't share it with the public.

Though the Trump administration is trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act in court, it's vowed that people with health problems will still be able to get insured. Here's why that could be tricky.

From Medicare to Obamacare to controlling drug costs, the candidates mostly differ in their approach to health care. Here's a quick guide to their views and proposals.

The federal government is offering nursing homes the chance to opt in to the new program, in which pharmacy staff would deliver and administer a future vaccine on site.

A vaccine will only work if a lot of people can get immunized. State health officials are working furiously to design outreach and distribution plans, with little clarity from the federal government.

The number of people working to stop COVID-19 outbreaks from spreading is far from the level needed in most states, according to a new NPR survey and analysis. Find out how your state is doing.

The coronavirus outbreak originating at the White House may have spread cases to dozens of other communities. But tracing related cases and stopping further spread is extremely challenging.

Health departments urged those who attended a Rose Garden event seemingly responsible for a coronavirus outbreak to get tested. Contact tracing for the event has been a challenge.

White House officials have in some instances violated public health guidelines for the coronavirus. NPR discusses what would have happened if guidelines were followed.

The President's diagnosis calls for contact tracing on a massive scale. Luckily, not everyone President Trump saw this week with is a high risk exposure. Here's who is.

At political events held by the Trump campaign this week, people may have come into contact with the coronavirus. NPR discusses whether contact tracing could possibly be done.

Trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration is at a nadir at a moment when the agencies are working to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Draft documents obtained by NPR show that the federal government is preparing to enforce new data reporting requirements, threatening to withhold vital Medicare funding from noncompliant hospitals.

Michael Caputo, one of the top officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, has come under fire for controversial remarks he made during a Facebook Live appearance on Sunday.

"We've got to take a deep breath," says one health official about the rapid timeline pushed by the CDC. "It is very clear that we need to lean forward to prepare to deliver the vaccine."

The CDC wants states to come up with plans to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine by October. It's a tight deadline, especially as plans for testing and contact tracing have been slow to come to fruition.

The Trump administration is trying to halt residential evictions through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but legal scholars are unsure it will stand up in court.