Diagnostic tests
An Islamic cleric leads relatives in prayer during the burial of a man in the special section of Jombang Public Cemetery reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 21, 2021. Indonesia saw significant spikes in confirmed COVID-19 cases recently, an increase blamed on travel during last month's Eid al-Fitr holiday as well as the arrival of new virus variants, such as the the Delta version first found in India. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
The Latest: NKorea tells WHO it has detected no virus cases

By The Associated Press Jun. 21, 2021 02:14 AM EDT

FILE - This electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows a human T cell, in blue, under attack by HIV, in yellow, the virus that causes AIDS. The virus specifically targets T cells, which play a critical role in the body's immune response against invaders like bacteria and viruses. Colors were added by the source. Some researchers believe COVID-19 has derailed the fight against HIV, siphoning away health workers and other resources and setting back a U.S. campaign to decimate the AIDS epidemic by 2030. (Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer, Austin Athman/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH via AP)
Experts see strides on AIDS, but COVID-19 halted progress

By Mike Stobbe Jun. 04, 2021 09:44 AM EDT

An elderly woman sits in a horse pulled cart during an eyesight examination event, in Nucsoara, Romania, Saturday, May 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Eye exams seek to improve outlook for rural Romanian kids

By Stephen Mcgrath And Andreea Alexandru Jun. 02, 2021 02:32 AM EDT

This February 2021 photo shows Stacy Hill, 48, of Philadelphia. After she lost her job and health insurance, a colonoscopy revealed two growths that were caught before they turned cancerous. “I was shocked,” Hill said. “I’m a proactive-type person so I was glad to know.” Doctors also helped her enroll in Medicaid, “so now I have medical insurance” and can continue getting cancer screenings, she said. (Stacy Hill via AP)
Researchers study impact of pandemic cancer screening pause

By Marilynn Marchione Mar. 16, 2021 01:07 AM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 file photo, a syringe filled with the a COVID-19 vaccine is seen alongside its batch number and a patient's vaccination card at a vaccination site in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. According to recommendations from an expert panel from three cancer centers in the U.S. published in the journal Radiology on Feb. 24, 2021, anyone getting a mammogram or other cancer check soon after a COVID-19 vaccine should alert doctors, to prevent false alarms from a side effect. Sometimes lymph nodes, especially in the armpit, swell after the vaccinations. It’s a normal reaction by the immune system but one that might be mistaken for cancer if it shows up on a mammogram or other scan. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Swelling after COVID-19 shots may cause cancer false alarms

By Lauran Neergaard Mar. 05, 2021 01:10 PM EST

FDA issues emergency-use authorization for U of I COVID test

Mar. 01, 2021 05:31 PM EST
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday it has authorized the emergency use of a COVID-19 saliva test developed by the...

FILE- In this Nov. 30, 2020 file photo, Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Witwatersrand, walks through a COVID-19 vaccine trial facility set at Soweto's Chris Sani Baragwanath Hospital outside Johannesburg. South Africa is scrambling to come up with a new vaccination strategy to combat COVID-19 following its suspension of the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after a preliminary test showed weak results in protecting the variant dominant in this country. Among the possibilities being considered are giving one dose of AstraZeneca in the hopes it will protect against severe disease and death from the variant. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
S Africa seeks new vaccine plan after halting AstraZeneca

By Andrew Meldrum Feb. 08, 2021 07:21 AM EST

A lab scientist processes upper respiratory samples from patients suspected of having COVID-19 at the Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Palo Alto, Calif. Viruses mutate constantly. To stay ahead of the threat, scientists analyze samples for genetic changes, watching closely for ones that might make the virus more infectious or more deadly. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
US rushes to catch up in the race to detect mutant viruses

By Mike Stobbe And Marion Renault Feb. 04, 2021 10:57 AM EST

Dr. Edward Simmer answers questions from the South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs committee in Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Simmer was nominated to lead the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control by the agency's board in December and must be confirmed by the state Senate before he can take charge. (AP Photo/Michelle Liu)
Senate panel OKs military doctor tapped to lead health dept.

By Michelle Liu Feb. 02, 2021 09:40 AM EST

A City of San Luis, Ariz., sign encourages keeping a safe distance between people to prevent exposure to the COVID-19 virus during the ASU and Equality Health Foundation pilot program on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Free saliva tests engineered by Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute are administered in Yuma County's small border city of San Luis to disabled and older people living in subsidized housing. The tests have also been given to hundreds of farmworkers. (Cesar Neyoy/The Yuma Sun via AP)
Military nurses, tests coming to help hard-hit Arizona city

By Anita Snow Jan. 18, 2021 09:06 AM EST

Nevada anticipates post-holiday coronavirus data swings

By Sam Metz Jan. 04, 2021 07:04 PM EST
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada officials say public health labs and testing sites could soon face a possible post-holiday surge as people return from holiday...

Kansas to use genetic testing to find new coronavirus strain

Jan. 01, 2021 03:03 PM EST
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will rely on genetic tests to identify cases of a new and apparently more contagious coronavirus strain that was first seen in...

State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs explains how a person might react to a COVID-19 vaccination, right, during Gov. Tate Reeves' covid news briefing, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi requiring hospitals to halt elective surgeries

Dec. 11, 2020 04:42 PM EST

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk across an intersection in Tokyo on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Asia Today: Hong Kong secures 15 million vaccine doses

Dec. 11, 2020 05:03 AM EST

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2020, file photo, pedestrians walk past Pfizer world headquarters in New York. A U.S. government advisory panel convened on Thursday, Dec. 10, to decide whether to endorse mass use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to help conquer the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Australia won't rush Pfizer after homegrown vaccine canned

By Rod Mcguirk Dec. 11, 2020 12:22 AM EST

Eric Lewallen takes a photo of himself on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, in La Crosse, Kansas. Lewallen, a radiology technician has been sleeping in an RV in the parking lot of his rural Kansas hospital because his co-workers are out sick with COVID-19 and no one else is available to take X-rays. (Eric Lewallen via The AP)
As virus spreads, Kansas hospital runs out of staff

By Heather Hollingsworth Dec. 07, 2020 01:11 PM EST

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov 18, 2020 file photo, motorists wait in long lines to take a coronavirus test in a parking lot at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Health experts around the country are hoping the incoming Biden administration will put in place a comprehensive national testing strategy. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Will the US ever have a national COVID-19 testing strategy?

By Mike Stobbe And Matthew Perrone Dec. 06, 2020 10:04 AM EST

An unused test specimen bag sits at an employee station at Primary Health Medical Group's clinic in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. Troops direct people outside the urgent-care clinic revamped into a facility for coronavirus patients as infections and deaths surge in Idaho and nationwide. Some 1,000 people have died due to COVID-19, and infections this week surpassed 100,000. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger)
Overtaxed Idaho health facilities on brink of rationing care

By Keith Ridler Dec. 05, 2020 11:12 AM EST

FBI urges retests for those who got COVID tests at NJ lab

Dec. 04, 2020 06:09 PM EST
VENTNOR, N.J. (AP) — The FBI is asking anyone who underwent a coronavirus test at a Jersey Shore laboratory to get retested, and to contact the agency. ...

West Virginia unveils free home-based coronavirus testing

Dec. 02, 2020 04:14 PM EST
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia debuted a partnership for free home-based saliva coronavirus testing on Wednesday. The testing kits...