August 14, 2020

A poll finds one-third of Americans say they will not get a coronavirus vaccine, a figure that undercuts the herd-immunity targets officials have begun promoting as the endgame. Biden and running mate Kamala Harris call for a three-month nationwide mask mandate, with Biden saying every governor should mandate face coverings outside the home. The Duke University study that went viral the day before, finding the neck gaiter it tested performed worse than no mask at all, becomes the latest addition to a growing pile of conflicting mask guidance that leaves the public to sort out which advice holds.

QAnon, the conspiracy movement, rides the pandemic to new heights by becoming a centralized hub for anti-mask activism, researchers tell NBC. The Sun Belt surge stalls the region’s fragile economic recovery, Brookings reports, as California passes 600,000 cases, the most of any state. The U.S. Postal Service warns of significant risk that ballots will arrive late for the November election, injecting the pandemic into the voting process in a way that both parties immediately politicize.