Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Excess Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March to December 2020

Although racial/ethnic disparities in U.S. COVID-19 death rates are striking, focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone may underestimate the true effect of the pandemic on disparities. Excess death estimates capture deaths both directly and indirectly caused by COVID-19. ...

An estimated 2.88 million deaths occurred between March and December 2020. Compared with the number of expected deaths based on 2019 data, 477 200 excess deaths occurred during this period, with 74% attributed to COVID-19.

Age-standardized excess deaths per 100 000 persons among Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and Latino males and females were more than double those in White and Asian males and females.

Masks and Respirators for the 21st Century: Policy Changes Needed Masks and respirators have played an essential role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for both healthcare workers and the public. Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

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Vaccines may have prevented a quarter-million Covid-19 cases and 39,000 deaths among seniors Coronavirus vaccines may have prevented 39,000 deaths among seniors by May, a new government study finds. Jen Christensen, CNN CNN

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https://www.nytimes.c

In Germany, you can buy a rapid Covid-19 test at the grocery store for one euro (a little more than a dollar). In Britain, any household can obtain a pack of seven rapid tests every day for free. In Singapore, you can get a free rapid test from a vending machine. Families in Israel receive at-home rapid tests for their children to use before school. Rapid testing is commonplace in many parts of the world because policymakers recognized early on that the tests could blunt the pandemic by stopping chains of transmission. By letting people know they are infectious, rapid tests are useful even in areas with high vaccination rates and can allow for a safer return to in-person activity.