The South could still become a summertime Covid-19 hot spot

All of a sudden, it seems like America is on the verge of liberation from Covid-19. Nearly half of all Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loosened recommendations for the fully vaccinated, particularly its mask guidance. States have followed the CDC’s lead, loosening their mask mandates and social distancing requirements.

But experts are increasingly worried that, in the southern half of the country, the return to normalcy could be a mirage and that summer could bring another...