The Covid-19 Pandemic

With the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic fading even as the coronavirus persists and evolves, a new normal is taking shape around the world.

Highlights

New Covid Shots Recommended for Americans 6 Months and Older This Fall
As the virus continues to mutate, the C.D.C. urged Americans to roll up their sleeves again for annual vaccinations.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
CreditJenn Ackerman for The New York Times
1. F.D.A. Advisers Recommend a New Covid Vaccine Formula for the Fall
  The panel endorsed targeting a variant of the coronavirus that is now receding, though some officials suggested aiming at newer versions of the virus that have emerged in recent weeks.
  By Noah Weiland and Christina Jewett
  CreditJamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
2. New Report Underscores the Seriousness of Long Covid
  The National Academies said the condition could involve up to 200 symptoms, make it difficult for people to work and last for months or years.
  By Pam Belluck
  CreditAlex Wroblewski for The New York Times
3. Covid Cases Are Rising Again. Here’s What to Know.
  The “FLiRT” variants have gained traction this summer.
  By Dani Blum
  CreditGetty Images

There’s a New Covid Variant. What Will That Mean for Spring and Summer?
Experts are closely watching KP.2, now the leading variant.
By Dani Blum
CreditGetty Images
Federal Spending Rescued Mass Transit During Covid. What Happens Now?
The government provided $69.5 billion in relief funds to help keep transit on track during Covid-19. But many rail and bus systems are now facing layoffs and cutbacks.
By Colbi Edmonds
CreditJamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
Is It Covid, Spring Allergies or a Cold?
It’s sniffle season. Here’s how to figure out what’s causing your symptoms.
By Dani Blum
CreditGetty Images
Supernova or Coronavirus: Can You Tell the Difference?
A scientist finds beauty in the “visual synonyms” that exist in images seen through microscopes and telescopes.
By Katrina Miller
Credit
U.S. Suspends Funding for Group at Center of Covid Origins Fight
The decision came after a scorching hearing in which lawmakers barraged EcoHealth Alliance’s president with claims of misrepresenting work with Chinese virologists.
By Benjamin Mueller
CreditTing Shen for The New York Times

Vaccine

What to Know About the New Covid Shots

The updated shots are now available in the U.S. Here’s who should get them and what to expect.

CreditAlisha Jucevic for The New York Times

Don’t Get Your Next Covid Booster Quite Yet

A new formulation is coming, and there are two main reasons to wait for it.

Riders, one wearing a mask, waited for a train at the Union Square station in New York City, as the federal public health emergency expired on Thursday. — CreditEmon Hassan for The New York Times

Covid Cautions Continue for Some, Even as Federal Emergency Ends

While mandates and lockdowns are long gone, the virus isn’t and, for some Americans, neither are masks.

In the early days of the pandemic, when there were no effective treatments for Covid and a new vaccine seemed a distant fantasy, health care workers were enrolled in a trial and inoculated with an old TB vaccine. — CreditChaideer Mahyuddin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A Century-Old Vaccine Fails to Protect Against Covid

Early in the pandemic, scientists began testing an old TB vaccine against the coronavirus. But the trial enrolled fewer participants than expected as new Covid vaccines were introduced, and no discernible effect was found.

The C.D.C. said only about 43 percent of adults 65 and older had received their first booster shot. — CreditKenny Holston for The New York Times

U.S. Authorizes a New Round of Covid Boosters

Older Americans and those with weakened immune systems, groups still particularly vulnerable to the virus, may receive additional shots of the reformulated vaccine, federal officials said.

Maps and Trackers

Track Covid-19 in Places Important to You

Build your own dashboard to track the virus in places across the United States.

Track Covid-19 in the U.S.

Track the virus in your area, and get the latest state and county data on hospitalizations, cases, deaths, tests and vaccinations.

How Nine Covid-19 Vaccines Work

See how the leading vaccines train the immune system to fight the virus.

Charting a Coronavirus Infection

Following the course of a typical Covid-19 case.

Travel

Roamingwood Lake is one of several lakes in the Hideout, a gated community in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, where the full-timers and short-term rental owners are locked in a battle over the right to rent. — CreditNoah Kalina for The New York Times

A Showdown Pits Owners of Second Homes Against Full-Time Residents

The pandemic upset a delicate balance of part-time and full-time residents in a community in the Poconos, sparking a debate over short-term rentals.

The Big Number: 18%

Surveys this month found that domestic flight prices for holiday travel were substantially down from a year ago.

Airlines lower their fares when they are trying to get more people to book tickets as demand is slowing or they are facing stiffer competition. — CreditStefani Reynolds for The New York Times

Sharp Drop in Airfares Cheers Inflation-Weary Travelers

Airlines are starting to offer bargain prices, including to popular overseas destinations like Paris, a sign that they are fighting to fill planes.

Blinken’s Toughest Challenge Might Not Be Coups but Passport Delays

The secretary of state has been bombarded with complaints about a huge backlog of passport applications, largely related to pandemic disruptions.

Early in the pandemic, cruise lines suspended operations, and shares in publicly traded cruise companies plummeted. — CreditAngel Valentin for The New York Times

Look at the Stocks Leading the Market Now

Devastated at the height of the pandemic, cruise lines have become top performers.

Este puede ser el síntoma de covid que más se pasa por alto
Los problemas gastrointestinales son un signo común de infección, pero a menudo no son reconocidos.
By Dani Blum
Read in English
This May Be the Most Overlooked Covid Symptom
Gastrointestinal issues are a common but often unrecognized sign of infection.
By Dani Blum
Leer en español
San Francisco’s Arts Institutions Are Slowly Building Back
Although attendance remains down from prepandemic levels, the city’s arts groups are having some success getting audiences to return.
By Robin Pogrebin
Student Loan Borrowers Owe $1.6 Trillion. Nearly Half Aren’t Paying.
Millions of people are overdue on their federal loans or still have them paused — and court rulings keep upending collection efforts.
By Stacy Cowley
The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling
Teachers this year saw the effects of the pandemic’s stress and isolation on young students: Some can barely speak, sit still or even hold a pencil.
By Claire Cain Miller and Sarah Mervosh
This Is the First Presidential Debate Without an In-Person Audience Since 1960
John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were the last presidential candidates to debate with no live audience during a general election.
By Neil Vigdor
Why U.S. Schools Are Facing Their Biggest Budget Crunch in Years
Federal pandemic aid helped keep school districts afloat, but that money is coming to an end.
By Sarah Mervosh and Madeleine Ngo
Schools Got a Record $190 Billion in Pandemic Aid. Did It Work?
Two new studies suggest that the largest single federal investment in U.S. schools improved student test scores, but only modestly.
By Sarah Mervosh
Times Insider
Covid Changed Everything, Including How We Cover the Bird Flu
The Times’s science and global health reporter shared how the pandemic shaped her current reporting on viruses, including bird flu, which is seeing an uptick in cases.
By John Otis
MEDIA BUBBLES
How Media Outlets on the Left and Right Have Covered Fauci’s Book Tour
Progressive publications have quoted extensively from Dr. Fauci’s new book, heralding him as a hero for his work during the pandemic. Conservative outlets have cast him as a villain.
By Santul Nerkar