June 2020

While disparity-based COVID reporting has been a topic for months, reporting on race-based impacts of the disease accelerate in June in the wake of George Floyd protests. News outlets claim a “second pandemic”—racism—is sweeping the country.

Legacy media had been harshly criticizing anti-lockdown and masking protests for weeks, but “racial justice” protests now dominate the news cycle and are often (but not always) excused as reasonable and non-threatening.

New studies are published touting the benefits of both masking and social distancing—one study even suggests wearing masks while having sex.

Nursing homes remain a major site of COVID-19 deaths.

The media advocates for eviction moratoriums as a means to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Fauci by now is all-in on mask wearing, and explains he changed his position because he had to protect medical supplies for health care workers earlier in the pandemic. This sets off discourse surrounding whether or not public figures should engage in “noble lies” to achieve policy goals.

In one of the more bizarre pandemic stories, minks in Denmark are found to have caught COVID. Millions will be marked for extermination.

Some states take harsh actions to stop the spread of COVID-19. Washington makes not wearing a mask in public a misdemeanor, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut make out-of-state travelers from “high transmission” states quarantine for two weeks. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pledges to make a national mask requirement should he win the White House.

Vaccine development continues apace, but polls show many Americans do not want to take it. News outlets begin reporting how they can be “convinced” otherwise.

Key Dates and Stories:

• June 1: Protesting Racism Versus Risking COVID-19: 'I Wouldn't Weigh These Crises Separately'
• June 5: Over 1,000 health professionals sign a letter saying, Don’t shut down protests using coronavirus concerns as an excuse
• June 6: On Dying Alone: 'Behind Every COVID-19 Case, There Is A Story'
• June 8: Trump to restart MAGA rallies this month despite coronavirus
• June 10: A housing ‘apocalypse’ is coming as coronavirus protections across the country expire
• June 12: U.S. CDC warns that restrictions may be needed again if COVID-19 cases spike
• June 15: FDA revokes permission to treat COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine, drug previously touted by Trump
• June 15: Fauci said US government held off promoting face masks because it knew shortages were so bad that even doctors couldn't get enough
• June 17: Mink at Danish farm to be culled after catching coronavirus
• June 24: NY, NJ and CT require travelers from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for two weeks
• June 26: Judge Orders ICE To Free Detained Immigrant Children Because Of COVID-19
• June 30: Just 50% of Americans plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Here's how to win over the rest