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When we think of the painful toll of Covid-19, we often picture urban scenes: lines for tests, overflowing hospitals, refrigerated trucks serving as makeshift morgues. Yet, staggering new data shows that the death rate from Covid in rural areas is now double what it is in urban ones. You would think that fact, coupled with medical professionals pleading with people in rural America to get vaccinated, would lead more to get their shots. Yet, people in rural states lead the list of those who remain unvaccinated, putting themselves and others at risk. (Kerry Thompson, 10/5)

While the Biden administration is turning to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the name of helping people, Americans would be better off with more data to make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Take those who are pregnant. As of Sept. 25, a third of the pregnant population ages 18-49 was fully vaccinated (32%), according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 10.7% were fully vaccinated prior to pregnancy, while only 18.9% chose to get fully vaccinated while pregnant. (Karin A. Lips and Kelsey Bolar, 10/5)

As a police officer, Sarah Brummer has had to deal with the tragedy of deceased babies. As an expectant mom, she read and heard horror stories in which COVID-19 killed either an unvaccinated mother or her child. “It was 10 times more intense than any child that I have seen pass on a case,” Brummer said of her research on unvaccinated pregnancies. And then a nurse friend told her of caring for a new mother on a ventilator. The baby had died, and the dad was in the intesive care unit. All had COVID.You better believe Brummer got the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant. Not just twice, but three times, including a booster. (Michael Ryan, 10/6)

For all the manufactured controversy around COVID vaccine mandates, one thing no one can deny is that they're fulfilling their intended purpose. From health care workers in California to employees of the food production behemoth Tyson, tying vaccination to continued employment is pushing people around the country to get the jab and help at long last restrict the virus' ability to kill and propagate itself. (10/5)

Every Fall when children return to school they come down with routine colds. Others get runny noses from ragweed allergy. This year, on top of the “typical” fall coughs and sneezes, we have COVID-19 infections, contact tracing and quarantines. As a society, we have failed to provide a safe environment for children to go to school for almost two years now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, COVID-19 infections can be minimized when schools enhance ventilation, mask everyone in the building and make sure anyone who can be vaccinated is vaccinated. (Scott Krugman, 10/4)

Fauci and the Biden administration keep indulging in authoritarian impulses that are turning COVID from a public health threat into a civil liberties one. This is all going too far. For the last several weeks, hundreds of thousands of sports fans have met at stadiums across the country to watch college and professional football. Heading into the season, media outlets and public officials focused on the COVID threat of these large crowds. They said the games could become super spreaders. Yet there were no notable follow-ups from those outlets, politicians or public health officials—because the games were not super-spreader events. Despite the more contagious Delta variant, and a significant lack of social distancing and masking, COVID was not the inevitable threat we were told it was. (Jason Rantz, 10/5)

Instances when Americans might need to know whether they have COVID-19 and need to know now are legion, especially with a winter season of the delta variant and flu approaching. Examples? Your child's elementary school reports another student with COVID. Your employer wants proof of vaccination or twice weekly testing. There's an upcoming in-door wedding with elderly attendees. Or a vaccinated member of your household has a sore throat and worries about a break-through infection. A rapid test at home would provide an answer in 15 minutes. (10/6)