In the next phase of the race to vaccinate Americans, the Biden administration knows the government is not the best messenger. So it's asking communities for help.
A wave of departing medical professionals in rural areas threatens to leave gaping holes in these health care systems and local economies, triggering a death spiral that may be hard to stop.
The isolation and uncertainty of the pandemic are driving the dramatic drop in numbers, threatening the already precarious economies of these areas and widening their socioeconomic drift.
In the 2020 election, the rural-urban divide sharpened even further from 2016, with Republicans consolidating power in rural America which could help them hold onto the U.S. Senate.
As COVID-19 cases increase, many rural communities, places which were largely spared during the early months of the pandemic, are now contending with a spike in infections and hospitalizations.
With a deadline looming, Census workers in Colquitt County are racing to count as many people as possible. At stake, they say, is $500 million for this rural county in southwest Georgia.
The agency serves areas where private carriers won't go. And in those remote communities, which helped elect the president, the Postal Service can be seen as a lifeline as well as a human connection.
Rural America is often painted in broad strokes. Small towns have been hit hard by population declines as more Americans flock to urban and suburban...
