When looking at nationwide U.S. coronavirus data, it's all too easy to miss vital stories playing out at the local level. Thankfully, regional news outlets around the country have been doggedly covering the distinct ways the crisis has been playing out in their neighborhoods. Take for example a new report from Texas-based investigative outlet El Paso Matters and Kaiser Health News (KHN), which found that residents of Texan towns along the Mexico border were substantially more likely to die of COVID-19 compared to those elsewhere in the U.S.
"In Texas, COVID-19 death rates for border residents younger than 65 were nearly three times the national average for that age group and more than twice the state average," reads the report, which was published by TIME via a partnership with KHN. "And those ages 18-49 were nearly four times more likely to die than those in the same age range across the U.S." The area’s problems become even more apparent when compared with the border region of neighboring New Mexico: "Texas border counties tallied 282 deaths per 100,000, compared with 166 per 100,000 in New Mexico."
What caused this disparity? Heide Castañeda, an anthropology professor who studies health issues among U.S.-Mexico border residents, blamed a "perfect storm" of issues, including prevalent pre-existing underlying health conditions, high uninsurance rates, and a lack of access to care. State politics are also playing a role: Texas, which has had a string of Republican governors running back to 1995, has refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a decision that has made it harder for some residents to get adequate coverage (New Mexico, by contrast, expanded Medicaid in 2014). Moreover, the state's current governor, Greg Abbott, blocked local leaders from issuing mask mandates and was one of the first state leaders to fully reopen this year. "People in Texas died at disproportionate rates because of a dereliction on behalf of the governor," Democratic congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, told El Paso Matters. "He chose not to govern...and the results are deadly."
Indeed, the human toll of this "perfect storm" has been stark—just listen to the story of Alfredo “Freddy” Valles, an El Paso music teacher of four decades who died of COVID-19 in February at age 60:
"When I took him to the [hospital], I dropped him off and went to go park,” says his wife, Elvira. “I never saw him again.” When she returned from parking, she says, the hospital staff did not let her inside. Valles, a father of three, had been teaching one of his three grandchildren, 5-year-old Aliq Valles, to play the trumpet. They “were joined at the hip,” Montana says. “That part has been really hard to deal with too. [Aliq] should have a whole lifetime with his grandpa.”
About 379 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to U.S. states as of this morning, of which some 318.5 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 45.2% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 178.7 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 3.8 million people have died. On June 21, there were 298,251 new cases and 7,097 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 3 million cases.
The U.S. had recorded more than 33.5 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 602,000 people have died. On June 21, there were 12,388 new cases and 268 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of June 22, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Delta coronavirus variant will "pick off" the most vulnerable people, especially those who have yet to be vaccinated, a top World Health Organization official said during a news conference today. "This particular Delta variant is faster, it is fitter, it will pick off the more vulnerable more efficiently than previous variants, and therefore if there are people left without vaccination, they remain even at further risk," said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program. The variant has been found in nearly 100 countries, including the U.S., where it accounts for about 10% of new cases, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A county administrative office in Bradenton, Fla. has reopened after two employees died of COVID-19 and three others were hospitalized, the local ABC affiliate reports. None of the affected people had been vaccinated, per county officials. The building's outbreak underscores the challenges of safely welcoming workers back to the office, especially in states or at companies where vaccination is not required.
Early in the pandemic, former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested sending infected Americans abroad to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, home to an American naval base and War on Terror-era detention center, per a new book from Washington Post reporters Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta. “We import goods,” Trump reportedly told advisors in February 2020. “We are not going to import a virus.”
Forget million-dollar lotteries and free college tuition: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is threatening to jail those who refuse vaccination, The Guardian reports. "You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed," Duterte said in a television address today. It's unclear whether Duterte, infamous for his controversial war on drugs, was being hyperbolic; local health officials maintain that inoculation is optional. So far, only about 6% of the Philippines' 108.1 million residents have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Craving an escape to a beach paradise? Consider the Thai island of Phuket, where officials are welcoming vaccinated international tourists without requiring them to quarantine, the New York Times reports. The so-called "Phuket Sandbox" could bolster the tourism-dependent Thai economy, which has struggled amid the pandemic.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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