The competition for slots will only worsen when the COVID-19 vaccination priority list opens to the broader public. It doesn’t have to be this way. Much of this misery comes from poorly designed vaccine sign-up websites, but the problem is more fundamental.
The Mississippi State Department of Health has detected the first confirmed case of a dangerous, much more infectious variant of COVID-19, indicating that the state has limited time before it becomes the dominant strain in the region.
Unresolved inequity is revealed when Black communities are hit first and hardest from hurricanes and floods yet are given inadequate resources to repair before the next storm, Heather McTeer Toney writes.
On Feb. 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new mask guidelines based on a study of how mask fit affects the wearer’s exposure to airborne particles. With more transmissible COVID-19 strains emerging around the world, it is important to properly use the right kinds of face masks. No matter how good a mask’s material is, it won’t work well if it doesn’t fit well. A lot of filtration efficiency is lost from leakage around the face mask, such as around the bridge of the nose or at the gaps between any facial hair and the mask. A well-fitting mask is one that seals tightly onto your face, ensuring that almost all the air you breathe goes through the filtering material rather than through gaps in the sides.
With the COVID-19 vaccine now available to many Mississippians, the state now has the opportunity to make the winter spike the last mass outbreak of the disease. The Mississippi Free Press has compiled information from expert sources on the contents, effects and value of the COVID-19 vaccines available to the public.
Epidemiologists and public-health specialists have been using mathematical models to forecast the future in an effort to curb the coronvirus’ spread. But infectious disease modeling is tricky. Epidemiologists warn that “[m]odels are not crystal balls,” and even sophisticated versions, like those that combine forecasts or use machine learning, can’t necessarily reveal when the pandemic will end or how many people will die.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other national health leaders have said that African Americans need to take the COVID-19 vaccine to protect their health. What Fauci and others have not stated is that if African Americans don’t take the vaccine, the nation as a whole will never get to herd immunity.
Since March, people of color have been more likely to get sick and more likely to die from COVID-19 infection because they have been living and working in social conditions that worsen their physical health and mental health. These conditions are rooted in structural inequalities that are also responsible for the severity and progression of COVID-19.
Scientists have shown that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely than white people to catch, be hospitalized because of and ultimately die from the virus. In explaining these findings, researchers often point to patterns within society that advantage white people over racial and ethnic minorities. These patterns reflect systemic racism or institutional racism.
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