States Give In to Lure of Reopening, Defying Health Warnings (1)

California Governor Gavin Newsom, under threat of recall, is pushing for young students’ return to classrooms. Nevada, with 11 straight months of declining gambling revenue, wants to scrap most virus-related restrictions. Alabama, against one of the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates among U.S. states, is saying goodbye to masks next month.

Governors loosening coronavirus restrictions -- or, like Texas and Mississippi, lifting them entirely -- are counting on Johnson & Johnson’s new vaccine to usher in a return to prepandemic life. Health experts say their surrender to tantalizing normality, amid a death toll of 520,000 and climbing, is courting ...