Mike Stobbe

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

A pregnant woman wearing a face mask and gloves holds her belly as she waits in line for groceries in Waltham, Massachusetts, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

June 26, 2020, 1:14 am

US officials update virus risk groups, add pregnant women

CDC says pregnancy leads to higher hospitalization rate for coronavirus, but not linked to increased chance of death

By Mike Stobbe

In this Thursday, June 11, 2020 file photo, Andrea Castaneda cleans the railings at Universal CityWalk near Universal City, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

June 12, 2020, 11:03 pm

CDC posts long-awaited guidance for minimizing everyday coronavirus risk

Tips from US health officials addressing what to do if you can’t stay home include: Take stairs, not elevator; use hand sanitizer after the ATM, and no elbow bumps at gym

By Mike Stobbe

Beach goers in Miami-Dade County enjoy a day on the sand and in the water, on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

June 11, 2020, 11:11 pm

Alarming rise in US virus cases as states roll back lockdowns

In some cases, increased testing appears to be cause for uptick in confirmed cases; others tied to lifting of stay-at-home orders

By Mike Stobbe

A funeral procession in Montepagano, central Italy, May 12, 2020. (AP/Domenico Stinellis)

May 18, 2020, 4:58 am

US and European leaders weigh the risks of reopening without a vaccine

Health experts caution world could be years away from widespread vaccinations; while Trump beams optimism, British and Italian PMs issue dire forecasts

By ELANA SCHOR, Mike Stobbe and Michael Kunzelman

US President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on April 16, 2020, as Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

May 7, 2020, 8:05 pm

Trump administration shelves detailed CDC guide to reopening the US

White House move, confirmed by several sources, continues trend of it minimizing role of the country’s top health body in dealing with coronavirus crisis

By JASON DEAREN and Mike Stobbe

People wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus while standing in line outside a Salvation Army food pantry, May 5, 2020, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

May 6, 2020, 6:26 am

US infection rate rising outside New York as states open up

New confirmed infections per day exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000; experts concerned about Florida and Texas, where cases have been rising steadily

By NICKY FORSTER, Carla K. Johnson and Mike Stobbe