[Farm93]

They each opted for a few months of near universal mask wearing and now are benefiting economically while others flounder.
We opted for the easier mask-free path supported by trillions of dollars in debt and a quarter of a million deaths.

I think it is a seriously misleading assertion that the only (or even the main) difference between the responses in Korea, Vietnam, etc. and the USA was "a few months of mask wearing". These nations did (and are still doing) much, much more than that. In particular, they have significant and effective contact tracking/tracing operation and they ENFORCE the quarantine/isolation requirements. That is IMHO much more significant than masks. It simply isn't even remotely true that the USA would have a similar case load as these countries if we just wore masks and still retained all the other unsafe behaviors. Yes, masks help, but they are nowhere near a silver bullet. Getting sick people out of the population is what has worked for these nations. They can do that because people are complying with ALL the regulations/suggestions (social distancing, cooperation with contact tracing, quarantine and isolation when ordered, and yes, masks).

Yes, they did a lot more than wear masks, especially at the government level, but the point was they did what needed to be done early.   And now they are going to have fewer deaths AND a thriving economy.  For the most part, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea tested, masked, and sprayed and they did that before cases got a foothold. 

The citizens in Vietnam and Thailand, in particular, really didn't do more than we did in CA to be honest.  There is a lot in the cultures, the favorable climates, and a whole lot of respect for the potential pandemics.    

Here in the USA we've been given a false choice for months.   Fight COVID hard OR have a thriving economy.   And we have a mountain of debt creating a sugar high for the economy and far too many fatalities even relative to slow responding peers in western nations.  The deal was, and still remains, that economies can't thrive if COVID is lurking and thriving in their land.

Oh well, our relevant comps would not have been that Asia group because it would have been almost impossible for a POTUS to get citizen compliance in the USA before deaths were visible, and POTUS45 was definitely not going to ask citizens to take any very difficult steps early. 

Germany and Canada likely are closer to our best case.   Slower to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, but once aware they were quick to use a combination of science, technology and medicine to keep some level of control.  Sadly, we do not appear to be ready to join that potential peer group either. 

IIWII

[Farm93]

They each opted for a few months of near universal mask wearing and now are benefiting economically while others flounder.
We opted for the easier mask-free path supported by trillions of dollars in debt and a quarter of a million deaths.

I think it is a seriously misleading assertion that the only (or even the main) difference between the responses in Korea, Vietnam, etc. and the USA was "a few months of mask wearing". These nations did (and are still doing) much, much more than that. In particular, they have significant and effective contact tracking/tracing operation and they ENFORCE the quarantine/isolation requirements. That is IMHO much more significant than masks. It simply isn't even remotely true that the USA would have a similar case load as these countries if we just wore masks and still retained all the other unsafe behaviors. Yes, masks help, but they are nowhere near a silver bullet. Getting sick people out of the population is what has worked for these nations. They can do that because people are complying with ALL the regulations/suggestions (social distancing, cooperation with contact tracing, quarantine and isolation when ordered, and yes, masks).

Yes, they did a lot more than wear masks, especially at the government level, but the point was they did what needed to be done early.   And now they are going to have fewer deaths AND a thriving economy.  For the most part, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Korea tested, masked, and sprayed and they did that before cases got a foothold. 

The citizens in Vietnam and Thailand, in particular, really didn't do more than we did in CA to be honest.  There is a lot in the cultures, the favorable climates, and a whole lot of respect for the potential pandemics.    

Here in the USA we've been given a false choice for months.   Fight COVID hard OR have a thriving economy.   And we have a mountain of debt creating a sugar high for the economy and far too many fatalities even relative to slow responding peers in western nations.  The deal was, and still remains, that economies can't thrive if COVID is lurking and thriving in their land.

Oh well, our relevant comps would not have been that Asia group because it would have been almost impossible for a POTUS to get citizen compliance in the USA before deaths were visible, and POTUS45 was definitely not going to ask citizens to take any very difficult steps early. 

Germany and Canada likely are closer to our best case.   Slower to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, but once aware they were quick to use a combination of science, technology and medicine to keep some level of control.  Sadly, we do not appear to be ready to join that potential peer group either. 

IIWII