More than 700,000 people 65 and older died.
Family members are mourning the loss of an ER nurse from Southern California who died from COVID-19 as her husband remains in the hospital with the virus.
"It goes back to the teachings of our elders," said Francis, who helps get vaccines and care packages to Navajo and Hopi families."Try to be self-sufficient, how to take care of ourselves and how to not rely so much on the government other sources that may or may not have our interests at heart."Americans living in rural areas have been less likely to get vaccinated than city dwellers, more likely to be infected and more likely to die.
Surges swamped the thin resources of rural hospitals. During the delta surge, Kennedy transferred patients to hospitals in Springfield, which is 130 miles away, and Chicago, 270 miles away. The recent omicron wave felt even harder to David Schreiner, CEO of Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon, Illinois.