That's really fascinating. I was indeed reading headlines instead of actual research. Lesson learned.
Also — for anyone wanting to get accurate science reporting in the US (about COVID specifically, but I'd also say more generally), definitely check out NPR's large collection of recurring podcasts. I knew those numbers the grandparent commenter posted back in Feb, thanks to NPR's great reporting, and watching this pandemic play out has felt like dramatic irony. NPR has been on the ball with accurate science reporting for years, and it's a crying shame that their audience is dwarfed by those of cable networks.
they don't even pretend to be balanced any more, especially anything related to politics, and the covid response is squarely political at this point. npr no longer holds any esteem regarding science reporting or balance.
Their science reporting on the whole has not been great, but some programs (e.g. Science Friday) are better than others.
and agreed, science friday is better than their entire stack of daily news coverage of science-adjacent topics. marketplace, planet money, and hidden brain are pretty good for business/economics.