Coronavirus - 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has driven many commercial and social activities online and for some the internet has become an ever more crucial link to those they love and the things they need. A new Pew Research Center survey conducted in early April finds that roughly half of U.S. adults (53%) say the internet has been essential for them personally during the pandemic and another 34% describe it as “important, but not essential.”

Global growth is projected at –4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast. In 2021 global growth is projected at 5.4 percent. Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 6½ percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020. The adverse impact on low-income households is particularly acute, imperiling the significant progress made in reducing extreme poverty in the world since the 1990s.

More than 70 million Baby Boomers reside in the U.S. Since the time that the oldest Boomers reached age 65, there has been public interest in their impact on the nation’s labor force, public social insurance programs and asset values. The COVID-19 recession resulted in a large and sharp employment contraction across generations. This analysis looked at whether retirements had accelerated among Boomers during the pandemic.

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how the work experiences of employed adults have changed amid the coronavirus outbreak. This analysis is based on 5,858 U.S. adults who are working part time or full time and who have only one job or have more than one job but consider one of them to be their primary job. The data was collected as a part of a larger survey conducted Oct. 13-19, 2020. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses.

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), in partnership with the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE), has been surveying human resources directors in state and local governments since 2009. This year’s survey continues many of the questions from that original survey, with additional detail around emerging issues such as flexible workplace policies, positions that are difficult to fill, and the reasons for separation as discussed in exit interviews. This year’s survey was conducted from February 27 to April 7, 2020, with a total of 222 respondents.

Prison systems have begun vaccine distribution for incarcerated people. A table of states that publicly report real-time vaccination data is available on our System Report page. For states that are not reporting public numbers, The COVID Prison Project has estimated the amount of incarcerated people and staff that have been vaccinated from media reports. This table is updated on a daily basis.  

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. Since then, the United States and countries throughout the world have seen cases of COVID-19 soar. As of June 15, 2020, nearly 8 million cases and 435,000 deaths have been recorded around the world, with the United States accounting for more than 2 million cases and 115,000 deaths. During this time, the crucial role that state and local government workers play in everyday activities has been more visible than usual. From emergency medical technicians and nurses to teachers, public safety personnel, and public health professionals, the more than 19 million state and local government workers have been integral to keeping the country running.

Vera Institute of Justice researchers collected data on the number of people in local jails and state and federal prisons at both midyear and fall 2020 to provide timely information on how incarceration is changing in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers estimated the national jail population using a sample of 1,558 jail jurisdictions and the national prison population based on a sample of 49 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Vera also collected data on people incarcerated and detained by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population. This article examines data collected by The Marshall Project and The Associated Press.

While a global pandemic has been a looming risk for decades, COVID-19 has come as a shock to society, health systems, economies and governments worldwide. In the midst of extraordinary challenges and uncertainty, and countless personal tragedies, leaders are under pressure to make decisions on managing the immediate impact of the pandemic and its consequences, decisions that will shape the state of the world for years to come. What might be the silver linings in the crisis and how might leaders use this moment to build a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable world?

What is already known about this topic?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused approximately 375,000 deaths in the United States during 2020.

What is added by this report?

The age-adjusted death rate increased by 15.9% in 2020. Overall death rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black persons and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, and the COVID-19 death rate was highest among start highlightnon-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native personsend highlight.

What are the implications for public health practice?