Aimee Cunningham

Aimee Cunningham

Biomedical Writer

Biomedical writer Aimee Cunningham is on her second tour at Science News. From 2005 to 2007, she covered chemistry, environmental science, biology and materials science for Science News.  Between stints Aimee was a freelance writer for outlets such as NPR and Scientific American Mind. She has a degree in English from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. She received the 2019 Award for Excellence in Science and Medical Journalism from the Endocrine Society for the article "Hormone replacement makes sense for some menopausal women."

All Stories by Aimee Cunningham

  1. Health & Medicine

    COVID-19 vaccines may be ready for teens this summer

    Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is a crucial step towards reaching herd immunity and returning to pre-pandemic life.

  2. Health & Medicine

    The COVID-19 death toll sent U.S. life expectancy plunging in 2020

    Estimates show that American’s overall life expectancy declined by a year, but for Black Americans, the drop was almost three years.

  3. Health & Medicine

    The animals that ticks bite in the U.S. South can impact Lyme disease spread

    Ticks in the north primarily attach to mice, which do a good job of infecting them with Lyme bacteria, setting up the spread to people.

  4. Health & Medicine

    Nearly half a million U.S. children missed out on lead tests in early 2020

    A big drop in routine lead tests, which can identify children with elevated blood levels, is another troubling sign of the pandemic’s toll.

  5. Health & Medicine

    A new polio vaccine joins the fight to vanquish the paralyzing disease

    Work on the ground to vaccinate children continues in the push to finally eradicate polio.

  6. Health & Medicine

    Severe allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are extremely rare, CDC says

    Out of the first 1.9 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine given in the United States, there were 21 reported cases of anaphylaxis, a CDC study finds.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Health care workers and long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccines first

    With an initial 40 million doses of the vaccines, enough for 20 million people, anticipated by year-end, health officials are setting priorities.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Long-lasting shots work better than daily pills to prevent HIV in at-risk women

    A more discreet HIV prevention method — a shot once every eight weeks —could help to boost use in women at risk.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Measles has come back with a vengeance in the last several years

    The steep number of measles cases in 2019 doesn’t bode well for 2020, considering disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  10. Health & Medicine

    COVID-19’s death rate in the U.S. could spike as new cases soar

    Effective treatments are one possible reason the mortality rate from COVID-19 fell over the summer. Rising cases could reverse the trend.

  11. Health & Medicine

    The arthritis drug tocilizumab doesn’t appear to help fight COVID-19

    The best available evidence so far hasn’t found that the anti-inflammatory drug benefited patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

  12. Health & Medicine

    What does COVID-19 vaccine efficacy mean?

    The initial goal for a vaccine against COVID-19 is to reduce cases of the disease by at least 50 percent in those vaccinated versus those not.