The US has now surpassed every other country in the number of reported #covid19 cases. Of course it has a bigger population than many other hard-hit countries, but this is a sad milestone. And things will get worse before they get better. (Numbers are Johns Hopkins dashboard). 
No matter how long I live, I don‘t think I will ever get over how the US with all its wealth and technological capability and academic prowess sleepwalked into the #covid19 desaster that is unfolding.
So many warnings from some of the brightest minds in epidemiology and virology. So much smart advice on what to do and how to prepare from people who have planned for this and helped other countries beat terrible epidemics. So many opportunities missed, so many lives wasted.
There will be plenty of time to grieve and to look back and analyze all the factors. It was a failure of imagination in part but it was (and is) also a failure in leadership, a shocking abdication of responsibility to protect the people of this country.
For now, of course, we are at the beginning of a long struggle. Thank you to all the doctors and nurses and countless others on the frontlines fighting this pandemic. The debt we owe is staggering.
And sorry for editorializing. It‘s late. Back to the science tomorrow.
