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Crunching the numbers
- The United States has surpassed 400,000 covid deaths, with more than 100,000 lives lost in just the last five weeks. The American death toll is nearing that of World War II, the United States’ second-most deadly war.
- In Denver last year, the city spent more than $400,000 to clear homeless encampments, The Denver Post reported. Denver officials have said the sweeps were to prevent hepatitis A and shigella outbreaks, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommend against clearing encampments during the pandemic.
- In neighborhoods mostly made up of people of color, 62% of 18 to 35-year-old borrowers owed more than they originally borrowed by 2019.
The pandemic in local news
- The Missouri Division of Employment Security is pursuing large amounts of money from unemployment recipients who the state claims were ineligible for the benefits. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday that the state agency asked one recipient to repay $8,000, and those who don’t appeal such requests could face wage garnishment.
- This week in Mississippi, a state senator and representative tested positive for covid, Mississippi Today reported. Lawmakers received vaccines in the Capitol this week, and the state health department also plans to give doses to the elected officials’ spouses and legislative staffers.
- From March to August last year, California courts resolved half as many cases as they did the year before during the same time period. The pandemic delayed criminal and civil court cases across the state, creating a backlog that has further overwhelmed courthouses.
New on Big If True
On Tuesday, Emma Castleberry reported that although lower-wage health care workers like nursing assistants have been cast as heroes during the pandemic, their jobs remain poorly paid and difficult to fill. Some takeaways:
- The United States has a shortage of home health aides and certified nursing assistants, which are known as direct care workers. According to the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, 15% of direct care workers live in poverty, and 42% receive some form of public assistance.
- The pandemic has created a huge need for home health aides, a quarter of whom are immigrants. Some home care industry advocates say that policies limiting immigration worsened the labor shortage.
- Estimates of workforce shortages are based on our current use of the health care system. Because many people of color face obstacles to health care, those estimates don’t represent the true need.
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Thank you for reading Hard Reset. Send me feedback, questions and tips: bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, Big If True
