Covid-19 deaths among inmates and guards tops 1,000

More than 1,000 prisoners and correctional officers have now died due to Covid-19, according to the New York Times. Prisons and jails — given their crowded environments, strained health resources, and limited testing —  have been hard-hit during the pandemic. Research suggests the Covid-19 infection rate in prisons is as much as five times the general population's infection rate. Inmates have also been dying at higher rates than those in the general population.

Here's what else is happening with the pandemic: 

• Major health organizations recommend that any medical information for the public be written at an 8th grade reading level, but a new analysis of 18 government websites with Covid-19 information finds the material on them often exceed a 6th to 8th grade level. Making public health information too dense to understand could worsen the impacts of the pandemic, the authors warn. 
• Although Black people are being infected and hospitalized with Covid-19 at higher rates than white individuals, new research suggests that the mortality rate among hospitalized Black and white patients is comparable. The study, which looked at data from more than 11,200 hospitalized patients in 12 states, suggests access to hospital care may be a major factor in a person's risk of death. 
• Nearly half of physicians believe that the Covid-19 pandemic won't be under control until after June 2021, according to a new survey of 3,500 doctors. The majority of those surveyed also said that pandemic-related delays in care will lead to serious health consequences and that opening schools and other public places presents a greater danger to patients than prolonged lockdowns.