Fixing America's vaccine scheduling mess

+ Black cartographers putting racism on the map ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The U.S. passed a sobering milestone on Monday: More than half a million Americans have now died from COVID-19 – a number few people could have imagined a year ago. Globally, one-fifth of all known COVID-19 deaths have been in the U.S., and the toll continues to rise.

With new faster-spreading variants raising the risks, states are scrambling to get their residents vaccinated. But for many people, scheduling an appointment has been a nightmare of system crashes and confusing rules.

There’s a better way to connect people with vaccines, writes Tinglong Dai, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Carey Business School, and a few states are now trying it.

Also today:

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Stacy Morford

General Assignments Editor

In some states, getting a COIVD-19 vaccination appointment has felt like winning the lottery. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

How to really fix COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling

Tinglong Dai, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Websites that crash. Appointments that fill up within seconds. Scheduling your COVID-19 vaccine shouldn't be this hard. A few states have found a better way.

Politics + Society
How Black cartographers put racism on the map of America Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee; Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State Mapping is one way African Americans fight for equality and help each other navigate a racially hostile landscape.

Economy + Business

Why Black and Hispanic small-business owners have been so badly hit in the pandemic recession

Carlos Avenancio-Leon, Indiana University; Isaac Hacamo, Indiana University

With fewer funds to fall back on, minority-owned enterprises have struggled in the recession. To make things worse, many are in sectors that have been badly hit by lockdowns.
Decision-making experts explain how to avoid arguments over where to get dinner together

Peggy Liu, University of Pittsburgh; Kate Min, Cornell University

New research suggests there's often a mismatch between how you respond and what the other person wants to hear.

Arts + Culture
When men started to obsess over six-packs Conor Heffernan, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts Greek statues, the Napoleonic wars and the advent of photography all played a role.

Ethics + Religion
How Philadelphia’s Black churches overcame disease, depression and civil strife Stephanie Clintonia Boddie, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University As a PBS documentary explores the history of the Black Church, a scholar looks at how African American congregations in Philadelphia weathered crises over 200 years.

Education
5 ways parents can help kids avoid gender stereotypes Kyl Myers, University of Utah A genderqueer sociologist offers tips to disrupt gender-based discrimination in childhood.

Health
Why using fear to promote COVID-19 vaccination and mask wearing could backfire Amy Lauren Fairchild, The Ohio State University; Ronald Bayer, Columbia University History holds some lessons about when scaring people to change their behavior works. Two public health experts offer a case for caution right now.

From our international editions

Can the laws of physics disprove God?

Monica Grady, The Open University

If God could break the laws of physics, why haven't we seen any evidence of the laws ever being broken in the universe?
‘A promiscuous she-pope with a dilated cervix’: the legend of Pope Joan, who gave birth on a horse

Miles Pattenden, Australian Catholic University

Did Pope Joan exist? Probably not. But the legend had important resonances for the Catholic Church.
Why we did it: the Kenyan women and girls who joined Al-Shabaab

Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, Technical University of Mombasa

Women's motivations for joining terrorist networks belie Kenyan media accounts of naive girls manipulated through romantic notions of Jihadi brides or wives.

Fixing America's vaccine scheduling mess

How to really fix COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling

Politics + Society

How Black cartographers put racism on the map of America

Economy + Business

Why Black and Hispanic small-business owners have been so badly hit in the pandemic recession

Decision-making experts explain how to avoid arguments over where to get dinner together

Arts + Culture

When men started to obsess over six-packs

Ethics + Religion

How Philadelphia’s Black churches overcame disease, depression and civil strife

Education

5 ways parents can help kids avoid gender stereotypes

Health

Why using fear to promote COVID-19 vaccination and mask wearing could backfire

From our international editions

Can the laws of physics disprove God?

‘A promiscuous she-pope with a dilated cervix’: the legend of Pope Joan, who gave birth on a horse

Why we did it: the Kenyan women and girls who joined Al-Shabaab

Older messages

Uncle Sam may start sending parents monthly payments

Space lovers rejoice as new age in Mars exploration begins

Legislative gridlock is a myth

Texas confronts a chilly blast of climate change reality

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