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In the United States, this pandemic could’ve been over by now, and certainly would’ve been by Labor Day. If the pace of vaccination through the summer had been anything like the pace in April and May, the country would be nearing herd immunity. With most adults immunized, new and more infectious coronavirus variants would have nowhere to spread. Life could return nearly to normal. Experts list many reasons for the vaccine slump, but one big reason stands out: vaccine resistance among conservative, evangelical, and rural Americans. Pro-Trump America has decided that vaccine refusal is a statement of identity and a test of loyalty. (Frum, 7/23)

The petite blonde bartender in ripped jean shorts bounced to each side of a square-shaped bar as women in bikinis and shirtless men lined up on a sweltering afternoon to order Bud Light, vodka and soda, and piles of nachos at this dockside retreat in the Lake of the Ozarks region. In a county designated a Covid hot spot, in a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, and in a region where hospitals are nearing capacity as the Delta variant takes hold, Erin, a bartender at Backwater Jack’s, couldn’t be in a more vulnerable position. She interacts closely with hundreds of maskless customers—sometimes on a single day. She knows most of them are probably not vaccinated. And she doesn’t care. She isn’t either. (Korecki, 7/27)

Oxford-AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine had been spurned by some rich countries in preference for messenger RNA shots like those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. But the Anglo-Swedish vaccine is getting a second look as much of the world scrambles to inoculate itself against the highly transmissible delta variant. Amid a prolonged outbreak in Sydney, Australia’s vaccine authority now advises all adults in the country’s largest metropolitan area to “strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine including covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.” (Pietsch, 7/28)

I first started noticing them in December during one of the many walks, hikes and bike rides that became part of my routine during the pandemic: Sad little face masks that once served as the last wall of defense against unwanted germs were now unceremoniously tossed to the side. I saw this new trash on sidewalks, in the streets, on hiking trails, in parks and on the beach. There was even one hanging from a tree branch — I assume placed there so the owner could recover the lost item if retracing his or her steps? Using my iPhone and Hipstamatic app filters — which transform otherwise simple images into textured pieces of art — I began a pandemic project of documenting each one I found along the way. (Kinney, 7/28)

Human connection lies at the heart of addiction treatment. From the “inebriate homes” of the 19th century to the church basements later colonized by Alcoholics Anonymous, systems of mutual support and accountability have long been a vital part of achieving and maintaining sobriety. When America shut down in the spring of 2020 in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, those systems disintegrated. Treatment centers closed, and recovery meetings went virtual. Former drug and alcohol users who had long been warned that isolation was a precursor to relapse were suddenly instructed not to leave their homes. (Jamison, 7/29)

Leslie Lyons is a veterinarian and specialist in cat genetics. She is also a cat owner and general cat partisan who has been known to tease her colleagues who study dog genetics with the well-worn adage that “Cats rule. Dogs drool.” That has not been the case with research money and attention to the genetics of disease in cats and dogs, partly because the number of dog breeds offers variety in terms of genetic ailments and perhaps because of a general bias in favor of dogs. But Dr. Lyons, a professor at the University of Missouri, says there are many reasons cats and their diseases are invaluable models for human diseases. She took up the cause of cat science this week in an article in Trends in Genetics. (Gorman, 7/28)

Charlotte Cho first came face to face with pimple patches while working in Seoul more than a decade ago. The Korean American entrepreneur, who was an international corporate communications manager for Samsung at the time, was fascinated to see co-workers dressed in suits and heels arrive at work and attend important meetings with little round stickers on their faces. “It was very common for both men and women to have these clear hydrocolloid patches on their skin to treat a blemish or after a laser treatment,” Cho recalled. (Hydrocolloids are thin, film-like dressings.) (Mandell, 7/27)

Almost a decade after the daily HIV-prevention pill hit the market, long-acting forms of this public health tool, including a drug-infused implant meant to last a year, have shown promise in clinical trials. Experts believe such medications could launch a new era in HIV prevention, one that is long overdue for Black, Hispanic and younger people, who have been particularly prone to missing doses and dropping out of prevention programs. (Ryan, 7/28)