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COVID Risk May Be Falling, But It's Still Claiming Hundreds Of Lives A Day

COVID Risk May Be Falling, But It's Still Claiming Hundreds Of Lives A Day

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 21: A man walks through ‘In America: Remember,’ a public art installation commemorating all the Americans who have died due to COVID-19, on the National Mall September 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. The concept of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, the installation includes more than 660,000 small plastic flags, some with personal messages to those who have died, planted in 20 acres of the National Mall. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

It's a strange moment in the pandemic. Mask mandates and other restrictions have all but disappeared. For most vaccinated people, the risk of severe illness has gone way down.

But hundreds of people are dying of COVID-19 every day. For their loved ones, grieving a terrible loss as the country is moving back to normal can be jarring.

Everyday Americans are weighing the threat the coronavirus poses to them. Scientists, too, are debating how dangerous the virus is right now.

NPR's Rob Stein reports on the debate about whether COVID is more or less dangerous than the seasonal flu.

And Susan Reinhard with the AARP's Public Policy Institute argues that more still needs to be done to protect nursing home residents.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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