[Farm93]

We ought to be dealing with the impossible-to-specify real number, something in the order of excess deaths, the difference between the actual deaths and what might have been had our deaths per million been roughly similar to some agreed-upon international standard.

Looking at the Wikipedia reading of deaths per 100K, as of mid September, I see some easy ways to slant the analysis. If I compare us to UK, Sweden, and Italy, we're in the same general ballpark. If I compare us to Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, or Japan, we're 5-10 or more times worse.

Like on so many topics, with this one too, if you tell me the conclusion you want, I can find you the data to prove it.

Italy was crushed as the first western country to see a major outbreak.   Italy is the outlier, for sure.   And FWIW since June they've been doing OK.

The UK and Sweden both had officials that either were very slow to appreciate the dangers and/or believed herd immunity was a decent strategy.   So any country that compares its COVID19 results to those two countries is definitely not in a good place.   Even to this day those in Norway are discouraged from venturing into Sweden even for day trips.

Ultimately we know we are doing poorly because most of the developed world has travel warnings or bans for travel to the USA.  Officials around the world paid to review the health care stats, and are not in the Trump administration, know the USA is a massive COVID19 danger zone.    

That's all not meaningful though.   

If you just eliminate all of the deaths in states with Democratic governors then the USA death count is much lower.  ;)

Problem solved!!!

[Farm93]

We ought to be dealing with the impossible-to-specify real number, something in the order of excess deaths, the difference between the actual deaths and what might have been had our deaths per million been roughly similar to some agreed-upon international standard.

Looking at the Wikipedia reading of deaths per 100K, as of mid September, I see some easy ways to slant the analysis. If I compare us to UK, Sweden, and Italy, we're in the same general ballpark. If I compare us to Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, or Japan, we're 5-10 or more times worse.

Like on so many topics, with this one too, if you tell me the conclusion you want, I can find you the data to prove it.

Italy was crushed as the first western country to see a major outbreak.   Italy is the outlier, for sure.   And FWIW since June they've been doing OK.

The UK and Sweden both had officials that either were very slow to appreciate the dangers and/or believed herd immunity was a decent strategy.   So any country that compares its COVID19 results to those two countries is definitely not in a good place.   Even to this day those in Norway are discouraged from venturing into Sweden even for day trips.

Ultimately we know we are doing poorly because most of the developed world has travel warnings or bans for travel to the USA.  Officials around the world paid to review the health care stats, and are not in the Trump administration, know the USA is a massive COVID19 danger zone.    

That's all not meaningful though.   

If you just eliminate all of the deaths in states with Democratic governors then the USA death count is much lower.  ;)

Problem solved!!!