Emma Castro

A new analysis shows that states in the Mountain West suffered some of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the U.S. between January 2020 and July 2022.

Three years ago we saw a global shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New Mexico took an aggressive approach to public safety with mask mandates, limitations on business capacities and public gatherings. Yet a new report shows the state had one of the highest death rates from COVID. Researchers found states with higher rates of poverty, lower levels of educational attainment, lower levels of interpersonal trust, and worse access to quality health care tended to have worse outcomes.