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In the wake of the tragic milestone of 1 million official COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a new analysis found that without vaccines, the virus would have likely claimed more than 100,000 additional lives in 2021. The analysis, sponsored by Pfizer, estimated that the Pfizer vaccine alone likely saved more than 110,000 lives in 2021, the first year of the vaccination campaign. (Fujimora, 5/16)

More than half of Maine’s COVID-19 deaths since the start of 2021 could have been prevented by broader uptake of vaccines and boosters, a new study found. Maine still saw fewer “preventable” COVID-19 deaths than most states, according to researchers from Brown, Harvard and Microsoft AI for Health. Nationwide, they estimated there were roughly 318,000 vaccine-preventable deaths through the end of last month. The estimates show how Maine’s high vaccination rate has substantially reduced virus deaths here, but they also suggest that greater uptake of both the original vaccine and boosters could have saved more lives. It comes at a time when Maine is seeing another resurgence of the virus, with hospitalizations as of Friday more than double the total from a month ago. (Piper, 5/14)

Six-hundred-fifty-thousand Americans would still be alive. If the United States had the Bay Area’s death rate from COVID-19, 350,000 people would have died so far — not 1 million, the astounding number of deaths the country will reach this month, about as many as the entire population of San Jose. How did the Bay Area avoid the worst of the virus’s wrath? While good fortune and good health played a role, new analysis makes clearer than ever the advantage bestowed by the region’s whole-hearted embrace of public health restrictions and vaccines. (Blair Rowan and Woolfolk, 5/15)

For almost the entire pandemic, San Francisco’s COVID-19 case rates have been lower than the nation’s as a whole. But not anymore. Earlier this spring, the city’s confirmed new case rates climbed above those of the U.S. Then, on May 3, San Francisco’s case rate doubled that of the U.S. As of May 10, the national daily case rate was at about 23 new cases per 100,000 people, whereas in S.F. the rate was at 42 per 100,000, according to data from the New York Times analyzed by The Chronicle. (Neilson, 5/14)

The magnitude of the country’s loss is nearly impossible to grasp. More Americans have died of Covid-19 than in two decades of car crashes or on battlefields in all of the country’s wars combined. Experts say deaths were all but inevitable from a new virus of such severity and transmissibility. Yet, one million dead is a stunning toll, even for a country the size of the United States, and the true number is almost certainly higher because of undercounting. (5/15)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said holding up a COVID-19 relief bill as a way to demand a vote on Title 42, a Trump-era pandemic public health policy that allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border and prevents them from seeking asylum, is “blackmail,” but she appeared open to the notion of Congress holding a vote on the controversial measure. (Schnell, 5/15)

Boston Children's researchers have found evidence that the COVID-19 Omicron variant is more likely to cause croup in children that previous SARS-CoV-2 iterations, according to a study today in Pediatrics. The investigators noted that, from Mar 1, 2020, to Jan 15, 2022, 75 children were diagnosed as having COVID-19–associated croup at Boston Children's Hospital. Of those, 61 (81%) were diagnosed during the Omicron period. One child tested positive for rhinovirus in addition to SARS-CoV-2. (5/13)

White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday said if former President Trump wins the presidency again in 2024, Fauci will not return to serve Trump in the White House. Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden, gave CNN’s Jim Acosta a plain “no” when asked if he would work with the 45th president again. (Dress, 5/15)

In early May, a day after the legislative session ended, Gov. Ned Lamont reflected on the recent passage of what he called the state’s “first post-pandemic budget.” “I know we’re still at a 10% infection rate,” he quickly added, “but as we move on to our new normal, this was important.” Lamont also acknowledged a package of recently adopted bills aimed at expanding children’s mental health services. “Coming out of COVID,” he said, “I think we’ve seen in no uncertain terms the stress that was on mental health.” But is Connecticut and the rest of the world “coming out” of COVID? Is this a “post-pandemic” era? (Carlesso and Golvala, 5/15)

KHN: States Have Yet To Spend Hundreds Of Millions Of Federal Dollars To Tackle Covid Health Disparities

The Biden administration in March 2021 announced it was investing $2.25 billion to address covid health disparities, the largest federal funding initiative designed specifically to help underserved communities hardest hit by the virus. Two months later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and county health agencies. The money is intended to help limit the spread of covid-19 among those most at risk in rural areas and within racial and ethnic minority groups, as well as improve their health. The CDC initially said the grant had to be spent by May 2023 but earlier this year told states they could apply to extend that time. (Galewitz, Weber and Whitehead, 5/16)

KHN: After The Pandemic Hit Nursing Homes Hard, California Lawmakers Push To Tighten Licensing Rules 

When Johanna Trenerry found a nursing home for her husband after his stroke, she expected his stay would be temporary. He never came home. Arthur Trenerry died at Windsor Redding Care Center in Northern California in October 2020. The 82-year-old great-grandfather is among more than 9,900 California nursing home residents who have died of covid-19. (Young, 5/16)