New data shows that American life expectancy dropped a whole year in the first half of 2020,

but among black and brown Americans, it dropped two to three times more.

At least seven new variants are spreading across the US, reminding us that viral evolution

poses a real threat.

The cases continue to plummet for the sixth straight week, reaching mid-October levels,

and nearly one in seven Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine.

This is American Ascited.

I'm your host, Dr. Abdul Alseid, and it's way too early to declare victory.

Let me level with you for a minute.

I am so tired of this pandemic, and I say this knowing that I'm one of the lucky ones.

Nobody in my immediate family has gotten sick.

We haven't lost our jobs or our livelihoods.

So are I, have had consistent childcare.

We are so grateful.

But I miss so many of the things this pandemic has robbed so many of us of.

I miss getting to see my loved ones, particularly the ones who live in other parts of the country.

I miss traveling.

I'm a COVID, my work had me traveling often, and I haven't been inside an airport in over a year.

I miss making small talk with people, without having to worry about if one of us would inadvertently give the other an illness.

I miss seeing people smile at the random moments of joy, life doles out to us, without having to read it through a mask.

Honestly, I think that's one of the things I miss most.

So I'm going to ask the question that's on a lot of our minds.

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