Pandemic roundup: It's deadlier in red states; does their growing health gap with blue states stem from state policy?

Here's a roundup of recent news stories about the pandemic and vaccination efforts:

A new coronavirus variant called XE has been identified and is spreading in the United Kingdom. Early estimates suggest it's the most easily transmissible variant yet. Read more here.

As the United States nears 1 million Covid deaths, Kaiser Health News takes a deep dive into a rural Pennsylvania county that has suffered staggering losses. Read more here.

The pandemic has been deadlier in red states, according to a recently published analysis. That tracks with growing overall health disparities between red and blue states over the past 50 years. Though the divergence might reflect changing demographics and socioeconomic characteristics, public policy of state governments is more likely to blame, writes Dr. Steven Woolf, a professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University. Read more here.

The White House has launched a new website, Covid.gov, that's meant to be a one-stop shop for everything from high-quality masks, vaccines, and testing to antiviral medication. Read more here.

The costs of going unvaccinated in the U.S. are mounting for workers and companies. Read more here.

"The world's first 'human challenge' trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus has found that symptoms had no effect on how likely an infected person is to pass the disease on to others," Reuters reports. Read more here.

Native Americans and Alaska Natives admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 have had higher death rates than Black and white patients, according to a newly published analysis. Read more here.

Dr. Robert Malone, a coronavirus vaccine critic often cited by others, says he helped invent mRNA vaccines and hasn't been given proper credit for it. He's spreading unfounded claims about the vaccines and the virus. Read more here.

Rural America can learn something from Puerto Rico about boosting vaccination rates. Read more here.

The pandemic is exacerbating the "paramedic paradox" in rural America. Read more here.