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In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deeply entrenched social roots of the profound premature and "unnatural" loss of lives among our communities, most historically marginalized by the system. COVID-19 wreaked havoc among communities of color, low-income neighborhoods, inside congregate settings including nursing homes, jails, prisons and immigration detention centers. The resulting social calamity illustrates how social hierarchies, racial and ethnic identities, lack of legal status and the distribution of wealth determine, in large part, who falls ill during a pandemic. (Carlos Franco-Padres, Michelle Haas, Yadira Caraveo and Janine Young, 6/21)

The COVID-19 crisis isn’t over, and we shouldn’t act as if it is. Yes, yes, we’re tired of masks and social distancing. Crowds at the Truman Sports Complex, in the 18th & Vine Jazz District and at the neighborhood pool reflect the hunger for normalcy. At the grocery store, the movie theater, churches and synagogues, masks are gone and grins are back. Yet the latest numbers in Missouri suggest such overconfidence can be dangerous, or even deadly. The state has led the nation in its rate of new COVID-19 cases over the past week, worrisome evidence that the viral disease is still a problem. (6/22)

Despite considerable pushback, I stand by my controversial opinion that dying is bad. It’s a hill I’m willing to live on. With that in mind, I applaud the University of Illinois’ decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all students attending fall classes on all three of its campuses. In an email message sent Monday, university President Tim Killeen wrote: “This requirement is consistent with our own scientific modeling of the risks associated with the spread of the virus and its variants. It is also consistent with the Illinois Department of Public Health’s goals.” (Rex Huppke, 6/22)

Despite more than a year of significant restrictions on formal gatherings, America has seen more than 33.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 602,000 deaths. This high toll is likely partly due to informal social gatherings that have not been subject to state and local restrictions. They are often small, intimate, and involve people we trust. And that makes them dangerous.  One study found that peoples’ compliance with public health recommendations like wearing masks depended on the perceived risk of COVID-19 among the people with whom they interact. Another hypothesized that people might not view being with friends and family as being in a truly public setting. (Christopher Whaley and Dr. Anupam B. Jena, 6/21)