NEW: The US has surpassed 600,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19, a stark reminder of the ongoing human cost even as the vaccine campaign significantly slows the spread of the virus.
More than 144 million people, or about 43% of the country, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. But daily vaccinations have slowed considerably.
Roughly 1 in 5 Americans say they will not get vaccinated, with most identifying as Republicans.
Some who have died of COVID had refused the vaccine, leaving families to mourn a death that could have been prevented.
The Biden administration’s vaccination goal isn’t guaranteed, but experts remain hopeful: "We want to reach 70% of the adult population by the 4th of July,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week. “I hope we will. And if we don't, we're going to continue to keep pushing."
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🚨 BuzzFeed News just won its first-ever Pulitzer Prize for our groundbreaking investigation exposing China’s vast infrastructure for detaining hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Xinjiang camps. buzzfeednews.com/article/davidm…
The innovative investigation by @meghara, @alisonkilling, and Christo Buschek used satellite images, 3D architectural models, and daring in-person interviews to expose the depths of China's camps, even after Megha was kicked out of the country. buzzfeednews.com/article/davidm…
Tulsa activists are furious at how an Oklahoman government commission is commemorating the Tulsa Massacre — raising millions for a new museum but not a dime towards the cause survivors care about: reparations buzzfeednews.com/article/amberj…
The split over how to mark the attack's 100th anniversary was visible Monday, when the state commission and activists held separate events.
Stacey Abrams and John Legend were set to appear at the state event but backed out after learning about the survivors' frustrations.
The other key project from the state commission, a museum about the massacre, is also mired in controversy.
It was built on the mostly white side of the highway that cuts through Tulsa. Activists see it as another episode of under-investment in the city's Black community.
As households across the US reset the way they work, save, and spend during the pandemic, people also created long-lasting habits that will seem incomprehensible decades from now — just like the behavior of those who lived through the Great Depression buzzfeednews.com/article/scottl…
“The economy is just nothing but a collection of traumatized people, who are living out what happens when you get traumatized,” Brad Klontz, a financial psychologist and author, told BuzzFeed News.
Now as some of us emerge from the pandemic, we can begin to guess how we might live out that trauma. Having grown used to Postmates or Amazon delivery, we may rarely return to stores — or the office, or the gym.
One person saw loved ones travel by private plane to the Super Bowl; another said a friend complained about how long it took to build a pool mid-pandemic; several people complained about friends and family who posted Instagrams of themselves around the world on vacation.
Nikki, a teacher who lost her job because of the pandemic, watched in frustration as her siblings-in-law flew to Hawaii on the same day Los Angeles implemented a stay-at-home order.
“I think the pandemic really actually unmasked us all,” she said.
NEW: The true number of people killed by the disastrous winter storm and power outages that devastated Texas in February is likely four or five times higher than the 151 deaths the state has acknowledged, a BuzzFeed News analysis has found. buzzfeednews.com/article/petera…
Our analysis, reviewed by three leading experts in excess deaths studies, suggests that between 426 and 978 more people than expected died in Texas in the week ending February 20 alone. Our best estimate is that 702 people were killed by the storm in that week.
Most of the uncounted victims of the storm and power outages were already medically vulnerable with chronic conditions. But without the intense cold and stress they experienced during the crisis, many of these people would likely still be alive today.