SHEILA KAPLAN | The Seattle Times

FILE — A wide variety of face masks, some with sports team logos, at a store in Cypress, Texas, on Nov. 27, 2020. New filtration standards being developed aim to help consumers understand just how effective the masks they buy really are. (Go Nakamura/The New York Times) XNYT76 XNYT76

December 16, 2020 at 3:30 pm

How effective is the mask you’re wearing? You may know soon.

A division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to develop minimum filter efficiency standards, and labels showing which products meet them,...

Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, and Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill, on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. Dr. Fauci addressed the testing of vaccines and if they will be ready by the end of the year or early 2021. (Photo by Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images) 1777415 1777415

October 11, 2020 at 7:13 pm

Fauci says his words in a Trump campaign ad were ‘taken out of context’

The ad shows Fauci saying, "I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more." But he says he was speaking about the broader government effort,...

Nation & World

FILE — Subway riders, some using personal protective equipment like masks and gloves, in New York, March 17, 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order in September requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the U.S., but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times) XNYT123

October 9, 2020 at 4:46 pm

White House blocked CDC from requiring masks on public transportation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of...

Nation & World

FILE — Cruise ships docked at the Port of Miami on Saturday, April 4, 2020. The White House has blocked a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February, a step that would have displeased the politically powerful tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida. (Angel Valentin/The New York Times) XNYT22 XNYT22

September 30, 2020 at 11:23 am

White House blocked CDC order to keep cruise ships docked

The CDC's current "no sail" policy was set to expire Wednesday. Instead of extending it, as CDC Director Robert Redfield wanted, the coronavirus task force...

Nation & World

September 2, 2020 at 4:32 pm

CDC tells states to prepare for COVID-19 vaccine by early November

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified public health officials in all 50 states and five large cities to prepare to distribute a...

Nation & World

August 28, 2020 at 5:47 pm

Two PR experts at FDA ousted after blood plasma fiasco

The head of the Food and Drug Administration ousted its top spokeswoman from her position Friday in an urgent bid to restore the tarnished credibility...

Nation & World

June 25, 2020 at 7:41 am

CDC is still inaccurately counting coronavirus tests, a watchdog group finds

Congress’ watchdog Thursday criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for inaccurately counting coronavirus tests, noting that the agency is still merging tests that...

Nation & World

May 22, 2020 at 5:40 pm

CDC test counting error leaves epidemiologists ‘really baffled’

WASHINGTON — As it tracks the coronavirus’s spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is combining tests that detect active infection with those that...

Nation & World

May 8, 2020 at 10:28 am

FDA clears first home saliva test for coronavirus

The spit tests are part of a rapid emergency response effort by the FDA to help developers of novel tests for the coronavirus quickly get...

April 15, 2020 at 6:16 pm

Testing falls woefully short as Trump seeks to lift stay-at-home orders

As President Donald Trump pushes to reopen the economy, most of the country is not conducting nearly enough testing to track the path and penetration...

Nation & World