The U.S. COVID-19 national emergency expired on Thursday. After 1.1 million reported deaths and 6 million hospitalizations, the emergency’s end creates a moment to consider how the United States could have done better. We do that with a new data interactive examining one U.S. state that consistently did well in the pandemic—New Hampshire—and the factors that could explain its strong performance.
Next, we turn to one of the biggest blind spots in public health, and interview Richard Yoast, former director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on why so few philanthropies are seeking to curb excess drinking globally.
Our next group of authors discusses the role community health workers play in promoting choice in reproductive health care for women. They highlight the story of one woman who received a health worker’s support after she was diagnosed with HIV and how that support gave her the courage to inform her husband of her HIV status and start her family-planning journey.
Looking to the future of waste management on U.S. military bases, our final author considers how waste-to-energy technology could replace burn pits, which contribute to high rates of pollution and have adverse health effects for humans and the environment.
As always, thank you for reading. —Thomas J. Bollyky, Editor
