Mike Stobbe

In this Wednesday, March 17, 2021 file photo, morning fog blankets a cemetery in West Virginia. The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

April 9, 2021, 6:35 am

Defying pandemic fears, US suicide numbers dropped sharply last year

Preliminary numbers show 6% decline in suicides, largest annual drop in at least four decades even as people dealt with severe isolation and economic distress

By Mike Stobbe

Vanessa Guerra (right), a special education teacher, receives a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Kelly Mendoza, in Inglewood, California, March 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

March 8, 2021, 7:28 pm

Fully vaccinated people can gather without masks, CDC says

US health body allows meetings without face covering or social distancing, but stresses need to keep masks on in public, avoid large gatherings

By Mike Stobbe

Aman is inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccination clinic in Pomona, California, March 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

March 6, 2021, 6:54 am

Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 await guidance on what to do next

Over 28 million in US are fully vaccinated and still waiting for official advice on mask-wearing, visiting family, going to restaurants

By Carla K. Johnson, Mike Stobbe and Zeke Miller

In this Feb. 2, 2021, file photo, students wear masks as they work in a fourth-grade classroom, at Elk Ridge Elementary School in Buckley, Washington (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

February 13, 2021, 8:56 am

CDC: Classroom schooling can resume safely with masks and social distancing

US public health agency cites strong evidence in-person schooling can be safe, especially for young kids; vaccination of teachers provides ‘additional layer of protection’

By Collin Binkley and Mike Stobbe

A state legislator adjusts her face masks while asking a question at the Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi, February 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

February 10, 2021, 8:10 pm

Double bind: CDC study finds two masks are better than one

US government agency says COVID-19 spread risk can be reduced by 95% with double face coverings, but stops short of recommending everyone wear them

By Mike Stobbe

People wait in line to get COVID-19 vaccine shots at a vaccination site in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

February 10, 2021, 6:12 pm

Poll shows 1 in 3 US adults unlikely to get COVID-19 vaccine

15% of Americans say they definitely don’t want vaccine, 17% say they probably won’t take the inoculation

By Mike Stobbe and HANNAH FINGERHUT

Mortician Cordarial O. Holloway, foreground left, funeral director Robert L. Albritten, foreground right, and funeral attendants Eddie Keith, background left, and Ronald Costello place a casket into a hearse in Dawson, Georgia, April 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

December 22, 2020, 6:02 pm

US records deadliest year in its history with over 3 million deaths

15% increase is largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when tens of thousands of US soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands died in flu pandemic

By Mike Stobbe

Nancy Galloway (L) and Susan Deur cheer as trucks carrying the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine that is being escorted by the US Marshals Service, leave Pfizer's Global Supply facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on December 13, 2020. (JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP)

December 13, 2020, 7:53 pm

First shots shipped out in US, kicking off largest vaccination drive in history

Trucks leave Pfizer’s Michigan factories, with first 3 million vaccines bound for health care workers, nursing homes

By MATTHEW PERRONE, Mike Stobbe and MORRY GASH

In this file photo taken on December 8, 2020 a member of staff poses with a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination health center in Cardiff, South Wales. (Justine Tallis/AFP)

December 13, 2020, 2:53 am

US states to start getting COVID-19 vaccines Monday, after shot approved

3 million doses will initially be shipped out for health care workers and nursing home residents as America’s massive inoculation campaign kicks off

By MATTHEW PERRONE, Mike Stobbe and MARK SCOLFORO

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield speaks at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee reviewing coronavirus response efforts on September 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images/AFP)

September 22, 2020, 6:38 am

CDC changes and then retracts information on how virus spreads

Agency adds warning that virus can hang in the air and spread over an extended distance, but later says it was a mistake

By Mike Stobbe

US President Donald Trump gestures while speaking during a news conference at the White House, in Washington, September 16, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP)

September 17, 2020, 2:19 pm

Countering experts, Trump insists virus vaccine could be ready next month

US president says director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is ‘confused’ for projecting spring 2021 as time when coronavirus will be available for all

By MATTHEW PERRONE, Ricardo ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and Mike Stobbe

US President Donald Trump speaks during a media briefing in the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

August 24, 2020, 1:23 am

Trump announces plasma treatment authorized for COVID-19

Order will make it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment, but evidence has been inconclusive as to how it works or how best to administer it

By Jonathan Lemire and Mike Stobbe

Louie Brown and her son Nico, 3, feed a giraffe as they wear their masks at Utah's Hogle Zoo Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

July 31, 2020, 5:01 am

Experts see coronavirus numbers in US leveling off, but worries remain

Health professionals say epicenter has shifted from Sun Belt to Midwest and warn a third wave of the virus is likely, with doctors still unsure how virus moves

By Mike Stobbe and NICKY FORSTER

Illustrative; Medical personnel prepare to test hundreds of people lined up in vehicles in Phoenix's western neighborhood of Maryvale for free COVID-19 tests organized by Equality Health Foundation, June 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

July 12, 2020, 6:43 pm

US coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse

New data shows 7-day rolling average for daily reported deaths has increased from 578 two weeks ago to 664; researchers expect trend to continue for several weeks

By Mike Stobbe and NICKY FORSTER

Demonstrators against racism gather near the White House in Washington, June 6, 2020. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

July 2, 2020, 12:31 am

Health experts find little evidence that protests spread coronavirus in US

Researchers believe that if the mass demonstrations following the death of George Floyd had a big impact on cases, stronger signs would be apparent by now

By Mike Stobbe and NICKY FORSTER