There is a second wave coming, and I don’t think it’s being talked about nearly enough. Not the next BlueWave, which we definitely want, but the second wave of COVID-19.

Scientists and health officials have been reviewing information from the 1918 flu epidemic for clues as to what we should and shouldn’t be doing as we battle this coronavirus. As you’ll see in this chart from National Geographic, while many cities across America were able to bring the number of deaths down once they started to socially distance back in 1918, the rate of deaths climbed back up again once they relaxed those measures, bringing about a “second wave” of the deadly pandemic flu.

In some cities, the second wave was deadlier than the first:

Graphic from National Geographic

Returning back to today, we’re seeing cities in the South and Southeast declare that they’re opening back up as early as this weekend, it seems inevitable that we’ll be seeing a second wave of COVID-19. The question is when we’ll see it. The chart above looked at what happened in each of these cities at the 24 week mark — if we count out 24 weeks from now, we get to the first week of October. One month away from Election Day.

Imagine how Americans will feel about going out to vote just as the news fills back up with horrifying stories of overwhelmed hospitals, loved ones dying, and the utter lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) that the Trump administration STILL hasn’t secured. Let’s be honest, it could impact turnout.

And this is one election where we simply cannot afford that. This is all to say that we need to take collective action right now to ensure that every voter in every state has the ability to vote by mail by November. Hopefully, we won’t be in the middle of a second wave. But if we are, trying to get ready in October will be far too late. We need to get started now.

Here are two actions everyone should take immediately:
America Needs to Vote By Mail … Now

Help other voters by sharing this on social media:
How to Vote By Mail in Every Single State

Fight back against the ridiculous Republican claims about voting by mail:
Voting By Mail is Not New or Uncommon. Not By a Long Shot.

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Tags: #BlueWave, absentee ballots, absentee voting, coronavirus, COVID19, Election Day, Explainers, featured, pandemic, second wave, vote by mail