On The Road, At The Ballpark: Americans Celebrate Vaccinations, Lifting Businesses Newly vaccinated Americans are spending more freely on restaurants, travel and live entertainment. That should give a boost to pandemic-scarred service industries. Scott Horsley
Doctor In India Says His ER Is So Crowded, It's Hard To Walk Through NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks to Dr. Sumit Ray, a critical care doctor in New Delhi, about the growing COVID-19 crisis in India, and what can be done to get it under control.
They Desperately Need COVID Vaccines. So Why Are Some Countries Throwing Out Doses? How the chaotic system for distributing the world's vaccine supply is wreaking havoc in places that can least afford it. Nurith Aizenman
U.S. Announces Support For Waiving Intellectual Property Rights For COVID-19 Vaccines Many countries have asked rich nations to waive the patent protections to vaccines so they can be cheaply manufactured elsewhere. The White House said it supports waiving intellectual property rights. Ari Shapiro
COVID-19 Vaccines Might Not Work As Well For Those With Organ Transplants For most people, COVID-19 vaccines promise a return to something akin to normal life. But for the roughly 500,000 Americans living with organ transplants, it's a different story. Maria Godoy
Why Is India Running Out Of Oxygen? Hospitals don't have enough oxygen for patients on ventilators. There are delivery bottlenecks. Families are sometimes told to get their own supplies. Health experts say it didn't have to be this way. Sushmita Pathak
Giving 2 Doses Of Different COVID-19 Vaccines Could Boost Immune Response Using two different COVID-19 vaccines is a bit like giving the immune system two pictures of the virus, maybe one face-on and one in profile. Joe Palca
COVID-19 Reaches Mount Everest As Nepal Struggles With Record Infections Climbers are reporting an outbreak at Everest Base Camp in Nepal, where hundreds of climbers assemble as they prepare for summiting the world's tallest peak. Scott Neuman
U.S. Birth Rate Fell By 4% In 2020, Hitting Another Record Low For the sixth year in a row, the number of U.S. births fell in 2020, reaching the lowest level since 1979. The fertility rate remains "below replacement" — the level needed to compensate for deaths. Bill Chappell
Administration Plan Will Make It Easier To Get Access To Vaccines NPR's Noel King talks to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about why vaccination rates are slowing, and how the administration plans to get to get 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
