COVID-19 Has Been Deadlier for Vets Than the 'Forever Wars'
103 years ago today, fighting between World War I’s Allied Forces and Germany officially came to a halt, a moment celebrated around much of the world as Armistice or Remembrance Day, which in the U.S. eventually became Veterans Day. And this Veterans Day, it's worth taking a moment to reflect upon the disheartening number of U.S. veterans we've lost to COVID-19—the Department of Veterans Affairs reports nearly 17,000 known deaths among those tested or treated at V.A. hospitals; the full toll is unknowable but assuredly higher. For some perspective, that's more than double the number of U.S. service members who've died in Iraq, Afghanistan and other post-9/11 theatres, per Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. (V.A. workers have also suffered; the department says 228 hadve died of the virus as of Oct. 26.)
Many veteran COVID-19 deaths were tied to V.A.-run nursing homes, which suffered some of the worst localized outbreaks across the country. "During the pandemic, one of the worst places to be was in a nursing home," the Wall Street Journalreported last December. "Among nursing homes, one of the worst places to be was a state-run facility for retired servicemen and women."
That story, which largely attributes the problem to underfunding and understaffing, is very much still worth your time today, particularly for how it humanizes what otherwise can seem like abstract numbers. Take, for instance, the story of Clarence John Hill Jr., who didn't know that the virus was his father's cause of death until a bill from the funeral home revealed his diagnosis. "He died alone and the next time we saw him he was in a box," Hill Jr. told the newspaper. “To fight for this country and you treat them like this. How? How can that be right?"
The pandemic's toll on service members extends beyond sickness and death, of course. A 2020 report from the COVID-19 Military Support Initiative found that, among nearly 2,800 active service members and their spouses surveyed, nearly a quarter reported that the pandemic has jeopardized either their overall happiness, mental health or employment situation, while many were also worried about their childrens' education. The results underscore the diversity of today's military families and their needs, says Jessica Strong, co-director of applied research at Blue Star Families, one of the groups behind the Initiative and its report. "There’s a growing number of female veterans, younger veterans, veterans of color," Strong says. "It’s hard to focus on just one aspect of COVID that’s been impactful because it’s impacted those groups differently."
I've always seen the relatively poor treatment of our veterans as one of the country's greatest moral failings. The way I see it, once you serve, you should be set for life—especially when it comes to health care. Regardless of your feelings about the Forever Wars, that so many veterans needlessly suffered and died during the pandemic is a reminder that we need to do so much more to take care of those who chose or were called to serve. This, of course, extends beyond COVID-19—as a recent segment on The Problem With Jon Stewart made abundantly clear, the V.A. is woefully underfunded and stuck in a bureaucratic morass, and is in desperate need of reform.
For its part, the V.A. says it's doing what it can to treat as many service members as possible. "This past year, V.A. delivered more care both through V.A. facilities and in the community than ever in our history," V.A. Office of Media Relations director Susan Carter told TIME in a statement. "The department completed 78.8 million total visits in [fiscal year] 2021, surpassing the previous high of 74.26 million provided in [fiscal year] 2019 prior to the pandemic."
Still, veterans' advocates say that—especially today—we would do well to remember and advocate for the vets among us, and find ways to ensure they're taken care of. "Like everybody else, [the pandemic] has affected [veterans] day to day," Randi Law, manager of the non-profit advocacy group Veterans of Foreign Wars, told my colleague Jamie Ducharme. "With the influx of veterans having returned home from Afghanistan, they’re in need of some assistance. If the nation’s not at war, sometimes our veterans are not at the forefront of civilian minds. We need to change that. We should all be veteran advocates. We reap the benefits of their sacrifice every single day."
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 251.4 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 5 million people have died. On Nov. 10, there were 4559,901 new cases and 7,772 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 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 46.7 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 758,900 people have died. On Nov. 10, there were 95,929 new cases and 1,625 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 Nov. 11, 1:30 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Texas governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates in schools is an illegal violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal judge ruled yesterday, paving the way for districts in the state to once again set their own rules around facial coverings. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said Abbott's rule prevented children with disabilities, who can be at greater risk from COVID-19, from getting the most out of their educational experience, per the Texas Tribune. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office is seeking to challenge the decision.
In other gubernatorial news, Colorado governor Jared Polis signed an executive order today declaring his entire state a high-risk zone, thereby qualifying all residents for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot. "I urge all Coloradans who are 18 years of age and older to get a COVID-19 booster dose," Polis wrote in his order. Colorado is currently reporting about 50 new daily cases per 100,000 residents, up from around 10 over the summer.
While the number of daily new cases in the U.S. has remained mostly flat over the past few weeks, a number of public health experts are warning that Thanksgiving is likely to lead to a fresh surge, NBC News reports. However, because so many more Americans are vaccinated this winter compared to last, any rise in cases may not lead to a dramatic increase in hospitalizations or deaths, at least in areas with relatively higher vaccination rates.
A group of 10 U.S. states sued the Biden Administration yesterday over its requirement that most health care workers get vaccinated. The states—Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire—argue that the White House's rules, which went into effect Nov. 4, triggered a worker shortage that's making it harder to care for patients.
Lawmakers in Germany are considering fresh viral containment measures after the country reported a record 50,196 new daily cases today, ABC News reports. While 67% of the country's approximately 83 million residents are vaccinated, voluntary uptake is slowing, and leaders have been reluctant to issue mandates. Germany's rising caseload is especially worrisome given the approaching winter and Christmas season, when many Germans visit the country's famed holiday markets and travel to be with loved ones.
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 Angela Haupt. Jamie Ducharme contributed reporting.
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