How California’s Salinas Valley went from covid hot spot to a model for vaccination and safety

Last summer, coronavirus raged among Salinas Valley farmworkers, who were three times more likely to be infected by the coronavirus than other workers last summer, according to the Monterey County dashboard tracker.

Here's one (more) sign the COVID-19 pandemic is on the decline in the United States.

NPR's latest survey of state health departments with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security finds many are winding down the contact tracing programs they scrambled to grow last year. More than half of the 36 health departments that responded to the survey in late May had fewer tracers than in December, and the vast majority isn't planning to hire more.

In a way, that makes sense. With coronavirus infections tapering off in most parts of the country, public health experts said a smaller workforce may be able to keep on top of current outbreaks.