1/ A virus a thousand times smaller than a dust mote has humbled and humiliated the planet’s most powerful nation.
Why—despite its immense resources, biomedical might, and scientific expertise—did the U.S. flounder in its response to COVID-19?👇
theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
Why—despite its immense resources, biomedical might, and scientific expertise—did the U.S. flounder in its response to COVID-19?👇
theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
2/ The United States has just 4 percent of the world’s population but a quarter of its confirmed COVID‑19 cases and deaths.
After speaking with more than 100 experts in a variety of fields, @EdYong209 learned that almost every misstep was predictable and preventable.
After speaking with more than 100 experts in a variety of fields, @EdYong209 learned that almost every misstep was predictable and preventable.
3/ “To avert a pandemic, affected nations must alert their neighbors quickly. In 2003, China covered up the early spread of SARS, allowing the new disease to gain a foothold, and in 2020, history repeated itself,” Yong writes. But the U.S. also failed the international community.
4/ Instead of preparing the country for the worst of the pandemic, Trump closed the borders.
“Travel bans make intuitive sense," Yong writes. But "in practice, travel bans are woefully inefficient at restricting either travel or viruses.”
“Travel bans make intuitive sense," Yong writes. But "in practice, travel bans are woefully inefficient at restricting either travel or viruses.”
5/ Tests were in short supply. By the end of February, tens of thousands of Americans had likely been infected but only hundreds had been tested.
It’s hard to overstate how thoroughly the testing debacle incapacitated the U.S.
It’s hard to overstate how thoroughly the testing debacle incapacitated the U.S.
6/ Without access to tests, people with debilitating symptoms couldn’t find out what was wrong with them. Health officials couldn’t cut off chains of transmission by identifying people who were sick and asking them to isolate themselves.
7/ The indoor spaces in which Americans spend 87 percent of their time became staging grounds for super-spreading events. The hardest-hit buildings were those that had been jammed with people for decades: prisons.
8/ America’s nursing homes and long-term-care facilities house less than 1 percent of its people, but as of mid-June, they accounted for 40 percent of its coronavirus deaths.
More than 50,000 residents and staff have died.
At least 250,000 more have been infected.
More than 50,000 residents and staff have died.
At least 250,000 more have been infected.
9/ Inside hospitals, the coronavirus should have found facilities armed with state-of-the-art medical technologies, detailed pandemic plans, and ample supplies of protective equipment and life-saving medicines. Instead, it found a brittle system in danger of collapse.
10/ Social distancing worked. But an indiscriminate lockdown was necessary only because America’s leaders wasted months of prep time. Deploying this blunt policy drove the unemployment rate to 14.7 percent.
11/ During a pandemic, leaders must rally the public, tell the truth, and speak clearly and consistently. Instead, Trump repeatedly contradicted public-health experts, his scientific advisers, and himself.
12/ “It is now abundantly clear what happens when global disasters collide with historical negligence,” @EdYong209 writes.
