The Coronavirus Outbreak

This Covid question played out long ago, in the fight against smallpox in 1872

The FDA’s decision to expand eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine to young kids could mean less illness, safer school and more freedom

As U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers recommend authorizing shots for children aged five to 11, researchers predict what this might mean for populations

Our physical safety perimeters have widened, a study suggests

A new book reveals how quiet scientists, big drug companies and the Trump administration raced to meet the COVID threat—and why kids are just now being considered for shots

Our canine companions have become accustomed to having their humans around 24/7

Companies are updating vaccines and testing them on people to prepare for whatever comes next in the pandemic

Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between.

You can listen to all past episodes here.

Wealthy countries have bought up most of the available vaccine doses for booster shots but still have far more than they need

Now that the FDA has authorized the shots for a broad range of Americans, many people want to know if they need a booster dose. Here’s what we have learned so far

The consumer devices track pollutants as well as CO₂—a proxy for potentially virus-laden human breath

The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to mutate itself to death