Health & Science

View NPR's maps and graphics to see where COVID-19 is hitting hardest in the U.S., which state outbreaks are growing and which are leveling off.

The Food and Drug Administration gave Johnson & Johnson's vaccine the green light for emergency use Saturday, a day after a panel of advisers to the agency endorsed it in a unanimous vote.

Today is the 49th anniversary of one of the worst mining catastrophes in West Virginia history, the Buffalo Creek Disaster. More than 100 people died in southern West Virginia when a dam failed.

A coalition of non-profit organizations is hoping local and national leaders will adopt a plan that they say could create 41,100 jobs in West Virginia. The group called Re-Imagine Appalachia released a blueprint last week.

The Food and Drug Administration typically follows the advice of its expert advisers. A quick agency decision on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected given the state of the pandemic.

A new piece of legislation from West Virginia’s state senators would give county commissioners more control over decisions made by local health departments. Senate Bill 12 passed one chamber, and then the other, in less than a week.

As part of West Virginia’s Covid-19 rollout, health officials are reaching out to veterans.At the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center yesterday, about 400 people got their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Folks like 60-year-old Michelle Powell of Wheeling. She drove down to the capital city with her husband John, who’s 61 and served in the armed forces.

Early this summer, Eastern Panhandle residents should expect to hear billions of loud, humming cicadas.“Oh, it’s deafening,” said Matt Kasson, an associate professor of plant pathology and mycology at West Virginia University.

The West Virginia Legislature is considering two bills that would curb the authority of local public health officials. Senate Bill 12 would give county commissioners the authority to strike down ordinances coming from local boards of health.

The Food and Drug Administration released an analysis of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning that appears to support its authorization for emergency use.