Here's one (more) sign the COVID-19 pandemic is on the decline in the United States.
NPR's latest survey of state health departments with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security finds many are winding down the contact tracing programs they scrambled to grow last year. More than half of the 36 health departments that responded to the survey in late May had fewer tracers than in December, and the vast majority isn't planning to hire more.
In a way, that makes sense. With coronavirus infections tapering off in most parts of the country, public health experts said a smaller workforce may be able to keep on top of current outbreaks.
The racially disparate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has attracted increasing attention and concern. Black Americans have been disproportionately affected throughout the pandemic, and gaps replicating the same well-worn patterns of racial inequity are visible in the early rollout of vaccines.
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