“The region has long been one of the most forceful in its pushback against measures such as masks, business restrictions and vaccine mandates – and the protests have only continued to gain steam. A cafe in the town of Mendocino made headlines after announcing it will charge customers a $5 fee if they order while wearing a mask. It also threatened to charge $5 to anyone ‘caught bragging about your vaccine.'” Now this rural NorCal town is known for something other than flouting Covid protections. Rising cases.

+ “The White House on Wednesday announced a series of initiatives — with an array of partners including Black-owned barbershops, child care providers and colleges — to boost the nation’s slowing COVID-19 vaccination rates.” (OK, here’s the sales pitch: YOU LIVE!)

+ “The emergence of more virulent variants of the virus in countries like Brazil and India and the slowness of vaccination efforts in many places outside the West have contributed to deadly new waves. Coronavirus case counts worldwide are already higher in 2021 than they were in 2020. The death toll almost certainly will be.” WaPo: The pandemic is getting worse, even when it seems like it’s getting better. (What would America look like without vaccines? Look around the world, there are many examples.)