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When I wrote about what it means to be immunocompromised in early March of this year, I was itching to get vaccinated. People are immunocompromised for a variety of reasons—genetics, age, metabolic diseases like diabetes, and immune-suppressing medications taken for conditions including autoimmune diseases, organ…Read more...

There’s been a pretty broad consensus among scientists who study viruses that the one that causes COVID-19 arose naturally and passed from animals to humans sometime in late 2019, in or near Wuhan, China. But an alternate hypothesis—that it escaped from a lab in that city—has been tossed around like a political…Read more...

As the Food and Drug Administration prepares to authorize the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in kids ages 12-15 as soon as next week, parents should start thinking about when it makes the most sense for their child to undergo the two-dose vaccination process. Particularly if they need other vaccines for summer…Read more...

At least two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for COVID-19, the zoo has announced. They aren’t the first animals to contract the coronavirus in this pandemic, and they probably won’t be the last. Read more...

If you’re struggling to pay rent due to COVID, make sure you take advantage of the just-launched $25 billion rental assistance program, which is part of the relief package passed last month. If you can prove hardship, up to 15 months of your rent could be paid for. Read more...

With the Democrats’ Senate runoff victory tipping the balance of power in Washington, Joe Biden’s legislative agenda suddenly has new life. So what about those $2,000 COVID-relief checks—can we realistically expect to receive additional stimulus money soon?Read more...

With a new year comes new tax changes—some of which were buried in the 5,593-pages of year-end legislation and might have slipped under your radar. Aside from COVID relief checks and enhanced unemployment benefits, these are some key tax changes you should know about.Read more...

Forget trying to call the IRS about your second COVID relief check—the lines are clogged. As of Monday, their Get My Payment tool is the easiest way to know if your new payment has been sent. Read more...

While most of us await the COVID vaccine, scammers posing as health officials are using it as bait in scams to steal our money and data via fishy emails, calls, texts, or even visits to our homes. The Better Business Bureau, FBI and Department of Health have all issued warnings about these scams—and if anybody is…Read more...

Even though the virus that causes COVID-19 was discovered in late 2019 (hence the name), it dominated 2020. Here at Lifehacker, we’ve been covering it since January, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and discuss what we’ve learned so far, month by month.Read more...

COVID relief checks totaling up to $600 per individual will be mailed today, while payments via direct deposit began yesterday, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who made the announcement in a couple of tweets yesterday.Read more...

A few weeks ago, stuck in the waiting room at the emergency vet (the cat is fine!), I watched the 2001 movie Monsters, Inc. from beginning to end. The movie is very technically about two monsters who work at a factory where they scare small children in the night in order to power the monster-only city they live in. In…Read more...

You might be able to skip all mortgage payments in 2021 if your home loan is backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced more relief for borrowers struggling as a result of the pandemic.Read more...

Amid last week’s jubilant news segments featuring frontline healthcare workers getting their first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine came reports that put a damper on the excitement: that some of the vaccine recipients experienced severe allergic reactions following their shot. Read more...

In the face of so much uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s tempting to search for answers that might help you regain some sense of control over your life. You might, for instance, find yourself reading the advice of self-appointed health “experts” and social media gurus, who love to make overblown and…Read more...

As COVID-19 cases spike across the country, inundating hospital systems and prompting new restrictions on economic activity in some states, it’s important to keep a key distinction in mind, at least when it comes to your own place in the tangled pandemic mess: the difference between infection and exposure.Read more...

Hospitals have faced growing numbers of inpatient care since the start of the pandemic, and as spikes continue across the country, available beds are again becoming scarce. But as the pandemic is spreading at different rates across the country, how can you know if your local hospital in particular is overwhelmed? An…Read more...

In almost every sci-fi movie about a pandemic, there’s some trinket to differentiate the immune from the potentially infected. In 2011’s Contagion, the vaccinated received bar-coded wristbands; in the extremely triggering trailer for the forthcoming Michael Bay produced movie Songbird (a movie that asks “what if COVID…Read more...

Despite the accelerating pace of the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, millions of people are traveling this week to see their families for Thanksgiving. Gatherings will continue as planned, as if the Centers for Disease Control hadn’t issued a warning against traveling for the holiday. With the masses…Read more...

With Thanksgiving happening in a few days, you may find yourself having to make a grocery store run. (Of course, we’re assuming that it’s for a dinner solely for the people in your household.) Given the whole pandemic situation, you’ll probably want to minimize the time you spend inside the supermarket. And thanks to…Read more...

As the pandemic has triggered stories of an ongoing exodus from many major cities (though it’s important not to read too much into those headlines), homes are increasingly sold sight-unseen. According to Yahoo Finance, one out of 20 homes is now sold to homebuyers remotely. If you’re looking to take advantage of the…Read more...

With the COVID-19 pandemic ushering in the return of the road trip, places like parks and other natural wonders have seen a lot of traffic. That includes many popular spots in Indigenous nations within the United States, like Antelope Canyon, Havasu Falls and Glacier National Park. Read more...

Air travel during the holiday season can be stressful, so if you have the option of flying out of or through a few different airports, you may want to consider their amenities before booking your flight. In any other year, this might involve looking into the availability of lounges, or checking out the restaurants in…Read more...

So far, 2020 has been a never-ending cycle of bad headlines and distressing news articles, the next arriving before you’ve even had a chance to process the one before it. Whether it’s an alert about another instance of police violence, an update on spiking cases of COVID-19, or the ceaseless tumult of presidential …Read more...