- As of this Wednesday, more than 175,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the US. On Tuesday alone, more than 1,100 died. [Washington Post]
- Even worse, those numbers could be an undercount. Earlier this month, a New York Times analysis of “excess death” figures in the US calculated that as many as 200,000 Americans had already died of Covid-19 or other pandemic-linked causes. [NYT / Denise Lu]
- The ongoing US death toll stands in sharp contrast to the narrative coming out of the Republican National Convention this week: On Tuesday, multiple speakers framed the coronavirus as a past crisis, not an ongoing reality that has at last count afflicted some 5.8 million Americans since it began. [Vox / Aaron Rupar]
- Daily new cases have been trending down since last month, when they peaked at more than 77,000 new infections in a single day. But as recently as this week, the US was still reporting nearly 47,000 daily cases. [COVID Tracking Project]
- Testing capacity remains a problem point too: According to the Atlantic’s Robinson Meyer, tests in some parts of the US, like Arizona, take anywhere from one to two weeks to come back — so long that they’re effectively useless. [Slate / Ray Suarez]
- On Wednesday, CNN reported that new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing guidelines, which narrow recommendations for who should get tested, were implemented after pressure "from the top down," according to a federal health official. Trump has long suggested lowering US testing levels to make reported case numbers look better. [CNN / Nick Valencia, Sara Murray, and Kristen Holmes]
- While pandemic responses are obviously vastly complex, the US remains a substantial outlier in its mismanagement of the coronavirus. Experts say there’s a reason for that: Trump has downplayed the threat and undercut the US response at virtually every turn. [Vox / German Lopez]
- This week, researchers in Hong Kong also confirmed for the first time a case of Covid-19 reinfection in a patient who had the virus in March. It’s a sign that immunity after a first infection may only last so long. [NBC News / Denise Chow]
- Others, many months after they were first infected, are still experiencing the virus’s effects. Covid “long-haulers,” whose plight is often little understood by medical professionals, continue to grapple with symptoms like severe fatigue and difficulty breathing. [Atlantic / Ed Yong]
- Because US cases — and thus the burden on the US health care system — remain high, experts are worried about what could happen when flu season this fall converges with the pandemic. One thing you can do: Get a flu shot. It might be “your most important flu shot ever.” [Vox / Katherin
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