How the US handling of coronavirus provides the starkest warning

[David48atTD]

We all hoped for a rapid and effective COVID-19 response. For the United States, that has not occurred. It is now host to more documented COVID-19 cases and deaths than any other country.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html


With about 4 per cent of the world's population, the US accounts for about 25 per cent of all cases and about 20 per cent of all deaths — more than 169,000 deaths so far.

Given its status as a world superpower, and its stratospheric per capita health care spend, the situation in the US is truly alarming.

Entire books will be written on this woeful epoch in US history.
But I want to focus on some key observations of the country's failed COVID-19 response, and the lessons.



Transitioning to failure

It would be unfair to blame President Donald Trump and his administration for the systemic failures in the US social and health care systems. Those have been decades in the making.

But his pre-COVID-19 dismantling of the pandemic preparedness system, disregard for scientists, and hyper-partisanship have clearly worsened the US response.

I agree with the political commentator David Frum, who wrote:

That the pandemic occurred is not Trump's fault.
The utter unpreparedness of the United States for a pandemic is Trump's fault.

President Barack Obama left the Trump administration with pandemic-ready infrastructure.

<snip>


The US, through COVID-19, offers the starkest of warnings.

Underlying gross structural inequality, under-investment and unpreparedness in public health, and socio-political tensions have met in a dizzying, tragic outcome for the richest country in the world.

All Americans have suffered but their most vulnerable have, and will continue to, suffer disproportionately.

It is a shining light for what we must avoid, what we must stand up for and protect against.

The whole article and a good read is here

[cyrille]

a shining light for what we must avoid

In the long term - avoid running down public health systems. We're all as weak as the weakest link in the chain.

In the short term - avoid voting for morons who at heart don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.

There ya go - done!