A new global study has identified striking inequalities in disability caused by COVID-19 during 2020–2021, offering an early warning signal for the ongoing risk of long COVID in the years that followed — and even today. By examining across 920 locations worldwide, researchers found that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, showed disproportionately high rates of nonfatal COVID-related health loss. These findings highlight potentially hidden vulnerabilities and call for urgent action to address long-term pandemic effects in underserved populations.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how the same health information affects the behavior of individuals differently. A recent study revealed cultural differences in how people respond to hypothetical COVID-19 infection information at the local level. The analysis also found differences in how individual subgroups react differently to pandemic information.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how the same health information affects the behavior of individuals differently. A recent study revealed cultural differences in how people respond to hypothetical COVID-19 infection information at the local level. The analysis also found differences in how individual subgroups react differently to pandemic information.

When SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, began spreading worldwide in 2020, many research teams immediately set to work developing a vaccine against it. Building on decades of previous work on mRNA technology and on other viral vaccines, including HIV, they achieved their goal within the year. The most widely used mRNA vaccine design contains the genetic instructions for the body to make the spike protein that the virus uses to enter cells. The resulting immune response protects against infection and, more importantly, disease and death. However, developing a vaccine for HIV has proven much more difficult.