Public health
Residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus line up to receive booster shots against COVID-19 at a vaccination site near a residential area in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021. China's capital Beijing has begun offering booster shots against COVID-19, four months before the city and surrounding regions are to host the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing offering COVID-19 boosters, 4 months before Olympics

Oct. 21, 2021 11:59 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 2, 2021, file photo, a woman adjusts her face mask as she walks by a statue featuring the Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating on display at the Shougang Park in Beijing. China's "zero tolerance" strategy of trying to isolate every case and stop transmission of the coronavirus has kept kept the country where the virus first was detected in late 2019 largely free of the disease. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Organizers detail COVID-19 rules for Beijing Winter Olympics

Sep. 29, 2021 03:06 PM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 24, 2014 file photo, People stand under a set of Olympic Rings as they watch the sun set over the Black Sea a day after the close of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia. U.S. athletes trying to make the Winter Olympics will have to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 under a groundbreaking new policy announced Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
USOPC: American hopefuls for Beijing Games must have vaccine

By Eddie Pells Sep. 22, 2021 06:45 PM EDT

Residents wearing masks wait at a bus stop in Beijing Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. China's "zero tolerance" strategy of trying to isolate every case and stop transmission of the coronavirus has kept kept the country where the virus first was detected in late 2019 largely free of the disease. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China keeps virus at bay at high cost ahead of Olympics

By Joe Mcdonald And Huizhong Wu Sep. 21, 2021 08:32 PM EDT

FILE - Australia's Madison Wilson holds her silver medal after her second place finish in the women's 100m backstroke final at the Swimming World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in this Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, file photo. Olympic gold medal swimmer Madison Wilson of Australia has been hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19. Wilson, who is fully vaccinated, was forced to withdraw from the International Swim League competition in Naples, Italy because of the diagnosis. “I’m taking some time to rest and I’m sure I’ll be ready to bounce back in no time,” Wilson said in a post Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
Olympic gold medalist Madison Wilson hospitalized for COVID

Sep. 20, 2021 03:41 PM EDT

Participants wearing face masks pose for a group photo after a launch ceremony to reveal the motto for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, Friday, Sept. 17, 2021. Organizers on Friday announced "Together for a Shared Future" as the motto of the next Olympics, which is scheduled to begin on Feb. 4 of next year. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
IOC urges Olympic teams to ask for more vaccines

Sep. 17, 2021 06:51 AM EDT

People gather near the National Stadium in Tokyo as Blue Impulse of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force practice ahead of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021.(Ryosuke UematsuKyodo News via AP)
Tokyo Paralympics press ahead to allow students to attend

By Stephen Wade And Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 22, 2021 05:22 AM EDT

Andrew Parson IPC President speaks remotely during a four-party meeting in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. All fans will be barred from the Paralympics during the pandemic, just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics, organizers said Monday. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
Paralympics follow lead of Olympics: No fans during pandemic

By Stephen Wade Aug. 16, 2021 07:23 AM EDT

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus walks under the scorching sun Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan leader's medical adviser urges tougher virus measures

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 12, 2021 08:09 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2021, file photo, fireworks illuminate over National Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in Tokyo. When the Tokyo Olympics began during a worsening pandemic, the majority of the host nation was in opposition, with Emperor Naruhito dropping the word “celebrating” from his opening declaration of welcome. But once the Games got underway and local media switched to covering Japanese athletes' “medal rush,” many were won over. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Tokyo's Olympic fears give way to acceptance, to a point

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 11, 2021 09:16 PM EDT

FILE - Britain's Johanna Konta plays a shot against Cori Gauff in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, in this Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, file photo. Three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Johanna Konta returned to competition Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, after a two-month absence during which she caught COVID-19 and dealt with what she called “a massive range of symptoms.” “Definitely the worst illness I've experienced for a very long time,” Konta said in an interview with The Associated Press.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
French Open Women Singles

Aug. 10, 2021 04:11 PM EDT

FILE - Britain's Johanna Konta plays a shot against Cori Gauff in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, in this Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, file photo. Three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Johanna Konta returned to competition Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, after a two-month absence during which she caught COVID-19 and dealt with what she called “a massive range of symptoms.” “Definitely the worst illness I've experienced for a very long time,” Konta said in an interview with The Associated Press.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
British tennis pro Konta: 'massive range' of COVID symptoms

By Howard Fendrich Aug. 10, 2021 03:53 PM EDT

A man holds up a small girl clutching the French flag as they join others in the Olympics fan zone at the Trocadero Gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. A giant flag will be unfurled on the Eiffel Tower in Paris Sunday as part of the handover ceremony of Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024, as Paris will be the next Summer Games host in 2024. The passing of the hosting baton will be split between the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and a public party and concert in Paris. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)
Paris calling: After Tokyo, Olympians hanker for 2024 Games

By John Leicester Aug. 08, 2021 09:45 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 3, 2021, file photo, Coco Gauff, of the United States, celebrates after winning a point against China's Qiang Wang during their second round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. The teen tennis sensation said Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, that she was supposed to get her first vaccine shot the same week she got COVID-19, which forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics and has left her without her sense of smell. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
French Open Women Singles

Aug. 05, 2021 07:15 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 3, 2021, file photo, Coco Gauff, of the United States, celebrates after winning a point against China's Qiang Wang during their second round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. The teen tennis sensation said Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, that she was supposed to get her first vaccine shot the same week she got COVID-19, which forced her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics and has left her without her sense of smell. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Coco Gauff lost sense of smell from COVID; waiting for shot

By Howard Fendrich Aug. 05, 2021 07:13 PM EDT

A woman wearing a face mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus walks with a parasol on a street in Tokyo Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. Japan is playing host to the Tokyo Olympics. But the capital, as well as other populous areas, are in the middle of a government-declared “state of emergency” to curb surging COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/Kantaro Komiya)
EXPLAINER: What Olympic host Japan’s COVID ‘emergency’ means

By Yuri Kageyama Aug. 05, 2021 12:18 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2021, file photo, a visitor receives a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Tokyo Vaccination Center at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. In a new government policy that was debated in parliament on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home instead of in hospitals, as new cases surge in Tokyo to record levels during the Olympic Games. (Stanislav Kogiku/Pool Photo via AP)
Japan to limit hospital care as COVID-19 cases hit new high

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 04, 2021 05:51 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2021, file photo, Germany's Anna Carmen Schell, right, compete against Egypt's Enas Ahmed during their women's 68kg freestyle wrestling match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Chiba, Japan. Tokyo Olympians are exercising extraordinary discipline against the coronavirus. They are sealed off in a sanitary bubble that has made competition possible but is also squeezing a lot of fun from their Olympic experience. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Clean, repeat: At Tokyo Games, virus is Olympians' chief foe

By John Leicester Aug. 02, 2021 10:26 PM EDT

Olympic volunteer Atsushi Muramatsu poses for a photo in front of Sekisui Heim Super Arena, which was used as a morgue after the 2011 earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, in Rifu, Japan, Thursday, July 29, 2021. The arena is situated next to Miyagi Stadium, which is used for soccer matches during the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he is serving as a volunteer. Muramatsu has made business-card size flyers to express gratitude for support from overseas. He plans to hand them out to foreign media. (AP Photo/Chisato Tanaka)
Olympic volunteers strive to share stories of 3/11 disaster

By Chisato Tanaka Aug. 01, 2021 11:31 PM EDT

Michael Andrew, of United States, comes off the pool after swimming in the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
US swimmer Andrew goes maskless behind scenes at Olympics

By Beth Harris Jul. 30, 2021 05:24 AM EDT