CDC estimated in March 200k - 1.7MM deaths at that time. So it seems like we did fairly well. At the lower side of the scale. I get we are not out of the woods yet but death rates are slowing. Hospitals are doing better at treating those in need.
You just bought into Trump's narrative hook, line, and sinker!
The estimate of 1.7 million US deaths was
a worst-case scenario based on absolutely no action being taken to slow the virus! This estimate was calculated by the CDC a couple of weeks after Trump put Pence in charge.
(see link below if you never questioned the model that resulted in 1.7 million deaths)
That is a ridiculous standard for evaluation.
If I am a pilot of a 727 with 180 people on board and I do nothing, the projected number of deaths would be 180.
So you are saying if I land the plane with only 9 flight-related deaths, my score should be an "A" at 95%? Because that is exactly how Trump wants you to evaluate his performance.
The reality is that if Trump did nothing, other people would do something (like the merchants who require masks be worn in their stores, or the closing of schools before graduation last year).
A worst-case do-nothing prediction is mostly a pointless exercise, unless you are wanting such a low bar to compare your performance against, that it is virtually impossible to do poorly!
The worst-case figures are what would happen if no action is taken to slow the virus, which spreads person to person.
www.technologyreview.com
So it seems like we did fairly well. At the lower side of the scale. I get we are not out of the woods yet but death rates are slowing. Hospitals are doing better at treating those in need.
You seem to think this is mostly over! I would bet we are less than half way through the death toll (if Trump stays president). The rate of spread is expected to increase as temperatures decrease and like the Spanish Flu, it is very likely the coming flu season will be worse than what we saw the first half of this year.
Why don't you think it is more realistic to compare our "rate of death per capita" with that of other countries.
Don't you think we should be able to do as well as many less wealthy, more crowded (easy spread of virus) countries?
... how would you or your preferred candidate have changed it?
This is what Biden proposes doing to try to get back on top of things (immediately and long term). Sounds pretty practical to me!:
Fix Trump’s testing-and-tracing fiasco to ensure all Americans have access to regular, reliable, and free testing.
- Double the number of drive-through testing sites.
- Invest in next-generation testing, including at home tests and instant tests, so we can scale up our testing capacity by orders of magnitude.
- Stand up a Pandemic Testing Board like Roosevelt’s War Production Board. It’s how we produced tanks, planes, uniforms, and supplies in record time, and it’s how we can produce and distribute tens of millions of tests.
- Establish a U.S. Public Health Jobs Corps to mobilize at least 100,000 Americans across the country with support from trusted local organizations in communities most at risk to perform culturally competent approaches to contact tracing and protecting at-risk populations.
Fix personal protective equipment (PPE) problems for good.
Joe Biden will take responsibility, rather than leave states, cities, tribes, and territories to fend for themselves, and focus on producing more of these critical supplies in the United States. He will:
- Fully use the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of masks, face shields, and other PPE so that the national supply of personal protective equipment exceeds demand and our stores and stockpiles — especially in hard-hit areas that serve disproportionately vulnerable populations — are fully replenished.
- Build now toward a future, flexible American-sourced and manufactured capability to ensure we are not dependent on other countries in a crisis.
Provide clear, consistent, evidence-based national guidance for how communities should navigate the pandemic — and the resourcesfor schools, small businesses, and families to make it through.
- Social distancing is not a lightswitch. It is a dial. Joe Biden will direct the CDC to provide specific evidence-based guidance for how to turn the dial up or down relative to the level of risk and degree of viral spread in a community, including when to open or close certain businesses, bars, restaurants, and other spaces; when to open or close schools, and what steps they need to take to make classrooms and facilities safe; appropriate restrictions on size of gatherings; when to issue stay-at-home restrictions.
- Establish a renewable fund for state and local governments to help prevent budget shortfalls, which may cause states to face steep cuts to teachers and first responders.
- Call on Congress to pass an emergency package to ensure schools have the additional resources they need to adapt effectively to COVID-19.
- Provide a “restart package” that helps small businesses cover the costs of operating safely, including things like plexiglass and PPE.
Plan for the effective, equitable distribution of treatments and vaccinesbecause discovering isn’t enough if they get distributed like Trump’s testing and PPE fiascos.
- Invest $25 billion in a vaccine manufacturing and distribution plan that will guarantee it gets to every American, cost-free.
- As we enter the height of the political season, politics should play no role in determining the safety and efficacy of any vaccine. The following 3 principles should guide us: Put scientists in charge of all decisions on safety and efficacy; publicly release clinical data for any vaccine the FDA approves; authorize career staff to write a written report for public review and permit them to appear before Congress and speak publicly uncensored.
- Ensure everyone — not just the wealthy and well-connected — in America receives the protection and care they deserve, and consumers are not price gouged as new drugs and therapies come to market.
Protect Older Americans and Others at High Risk.
Joe Biden understands that Trump’s failed response has made older Americans and others at high-risk even more vulnerable.
Rebuild and expand the defenses that Trump has dismantled to predict, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats, including those coming from China.
- Immediately restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which was established by the Obama-Biden Administration and eliminated by the Trump Administration in 2018.
- Immediately restore our relationship with the World Health Organization, which — while not perfect — is essential to coordinating a global response during a pandemic.
- Re-launch and strengthen U.S. Agency for International Development’s pathogen-tracking program called PREDICT, which Donald Trump cut.
- Expand the number of CDC’s deployed disease detectives so we have eyes and ears on the ground, including rebuilding the office in Beijing, which shrunk dramatically under Trump.
Implement mask mandates nationwide by working with governors and mayors and by asking the American people to do what they do best: step up in a time of crisis.
Experts say that if 95% of Americans wear masks between now and December, we can save almost 70,000 lives. Joe has called on:
- Every American to wear a mask when they are around people outside their household
- Every Governor to make that mandatory in their state
- Local authorities to also make it mandatory to buttress their state orders
