Though Covid vaccination remains free through the CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Program, only 19% of Americans are up-to-date with Covid vaccines. Southerners are lagging, with just 13% of Southerners up-to-date compared to 21% of Non-southerners.

By 2021, internet access had spread and disparities had narrowed such that 13% of American Indians, 10% of Black Americans, 8% of Hispanic Americans, 7% of white Americans and 4% of Asian Americans lacked internet access.

75% of Southern counties are news deserts, compared to only 50% of non-Southern counties.

75% of Southern counties are news deserts, compared to only 50% of non-Southern counties.

For low-income households, affordable internet increases employment rates and earnings. Yet, 12% of Southerners have no internet access at home — not even a cellular plan.

According to new data, 21% of Southern counties have poor internet access (defined as at least 1 in 4 households lacking internet) compared to 6% of non-Southern counties.

More than half of U.S. counties are what experts call “local news deserts” that have either no newspaper or only one (often a weekly or a thinly staffed daily). Southerners are more likely to live in news deserts, as 75% of Southern counties are news deserts, compared to 50% of non-Southern counties.

Life expectancy in 2020 declined by 1.8 years – from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.0 in 2020. This is the largest single-year drop in the U.S. since 1947.

Southern states have less broadband internet access as a whole than the nation. Nearly 1 in 10 Southerners lacks broadband or a computer, including 1 in 7 Mississippians.

More than half of U.S. counties are what experts call “local news deserts” that have either no newspaper or only one (often a weekly or a thinly staffed daily). Southerners are more likely to live in news deserts, as 75% of Southern counties are news deserts, compared to 50% of non-Southern counties.

Broadband internet access has become an essential utility for every American family. Though internet access has spread, disparities remain.

Local news sources are an essential platform for both transparency and community input in small communities, and many understand what is lost without them. The steady decline of local newsrooms since 2004 has accelerated since the beginning of the pandemic, with newspapers closing at an average rate of 2 per week.

Broadband internet access has become an essential utility for every American family. Yet, according to new data, 31% of Southern counties have poor internet access (25% or more of households lack internet) compared to 9% of non-Southern counties.

Local news sources are an essential platform for both transparency and community input in small communities, and many understand what is lost without them. The steady decline of local newsrooms since 2004 has accelerated since the beginning of the pandemic, with over 100 local newsrooms closing entirely since the start of 2020.

With rapidly-changing Covid information and guidance, ranging from safe return to in-person school protocols, to community testing, local news sources are an essential platform for both transparency and community input.

Consistent and complete data are crucial to full and equitable recovery from the pandemic. Yet states across the U.S. struggle to provide timely and dependable data nearly 2 years after its start. In some states, data reporting has slowed dramatically or even stopped completely.

In 2020, as the nation suddenly shifted to widespread remote learning and work, the fact that more than 1 in 10 Americans lacked broadband greatly hampered many families’ ability to remain productive and connected.

Although hospitals in 6 Southern states are already more full than the 2019 national average, 5 of those states have decreased the frequency at which they alert the public of new cases. With a deadly race between viral variants and hospitalization capacity, timely data-tracking and transparency by local governments will be crucial to support mid-course corrections in public health responses as conditions continue to rapidly change.

Many large corporations announced vaccine mandates for new hires, employees interfacing with customers, and employees returning to offices. In contrast, 75% of small businesses in the U.S. do not require employees to have proof of vaccination — possibly for ideological reasons, and possibly due to challenges finding workers. 12 states have banned vaccine mandates, making it more difficult for smaller businesses to institute vaccine requirements.

Broadband internet access has become an essential utility for every American family. It is particularly important for school children to support homework and education. According to the most recent data (2019), 46% of Southern counties have poor internet access, whereas only 16% of counties outside the South have poor access.