Where are you getting those numbers? I am looking at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ and see only Spain at a higher death per capita of the countries you listed. Even so, I don't think anyone is pointing to the UK and saying they did it right! And the US has a 20% higher per capita death rate than France, which I would call more than "a bit higher."

This link, which sources data from Johns Hopkins University.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deat...

I have no idea where the worldometers.info data is coming from.

Regardless of small differences, painting Covid-19 as a uniquely American problem stemming from American politics is silly. No countries have performed particularly well, despite trying everything from strict lockdowns to no response at all. East and South East Asia is outperforming, but that likely has more to do with past exposures and disease resistance than it is due to policy difference.

uh what, more likely because disease resistance? places like SK absolutely are doing well because of policy difference. Restricting access in, robust contact tracing, phased levels of lockdown that are clear and unified.

Some of these would never work in the US due to gov't structure and just the culture of people (privacy rights), but to discount American politics is a stretch. The entire debacle has been a war on misinformation from the top down.

If it is past exposures and disease resistence, how do you explain early spread in Wuhan? Why does Aus/NZ enjoy natural immunity but not Indonesia? Quarantines are effective against all infectious diseases and have been for centuries, why do you assume they were not effective in places like China and Vietnam? Where is the evidence that disease resistance plays any role?

> No countries have performed particularly well, despite trying everything from strict lockdowns to no response at all.

South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand would seem to be examples countries that have minimises deaths.

You clearly responded before reading the entire comment.

Recently, France has been reporting about half as many cases as the entire USA despite its smaller population, and last I checked their testing wasn't even as widespread as in the US. Their numbers keep going up too. I wouldn't rely on their death rate remaining lower.

Which points to a terrible handling of COVID19 by Trump. Given the low population density of the US, the rate should be similar to other low density areas like e.g. Norway and Finland, yet it is more than 10x higher.

The US has numbers comparable to high density countries with extensive use of public transport. That is just terrible outcomes for a country where everybody drives and live far apart.

US is a mix of High and Low Density, you can not just take the national population and divide by land mass to come up with how things "should have gone" with covid

Nor is is really fair to even judge the Federal response to it at all, as under our system of government health care is largely a State matter not a federal one.

Remember the United States is a Republic of 50 States, joined together under a common Defense and Monetary system.

I don't for see large scale changes in policy under a Biden Presidency, you may get stronger messaging but power of the President is largely limited outside of dispersing money, and maybe requiring manufacturers to make certain things if there is a national shortage

Masks Mandates, Lock Downs, etc will still fall under the purview of State Governors as this how our constitution divides the powers of the government

What’s the point of a government or a monetary and defence system if it doesn’t help protect health? Surely keeping citizens alive and well is about the most basic role of a government?

You would have to provide a stronger definition of what you mean by "help protect health"

If you mean full on authoritarian rules where by the government arbitrarily decides by executive fiat who is allowed to work, leave their home, engage in commerce, or other wise gather in any way for months.

I would say no that is not a proper role of a government in a free society that has any respect for civil or human rights...

Cf https://covid.observer/per-million/#failed for a more comprehensive list.

Given New York City's very high rate, how would a person find out what the US w/o NYC compares?

US deaths: 234,034 US population: 330,052,960 Death rate per million: 709

US deaths minus NY: 200,248 NY population: 310,674,858 Death rate per million: 644

You'd have to remove NJ and Connecticut (the top three states) to make much of a difference.

Not just that, you'd be comparing with countries that also have major cities that are particularly badly affected and have not removed those figures from their total.

Thank you.

IMHO that means that if the U.S. actually had a federal response, if, you know, the Trump administration was actually trying to use the federal government to help the country, that our numbers would be lower.

Which, considering the wealth and expertise of the United States, makes a sort of sense.

At least those other nations are actually making an effort, and not denying science and spreading false, destructive information.

US is over twice Canada's mortality per capita. Trump did a deadly job in handling Corona.