Thread by @Aaron_Derfel

1) Since the pandemic's start, Florida’s cumulative death toll has surged to 290 per 100,000 population — likely an undercount because the state is likely suppressing data. Quebec’s cumulative rate stands at 146.7 per 100,000. In this thread, I will compare the two jurisdictions.

2) Despite Florida’s much higher #COVID death toll, there are virtually no #pandemic restrictions in the state. As Josh Freed observed in his perceptive weekend column in the @mtlgazette, Florida feels like another planet, or a Cowboyland. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…

3) COVID denialists and anti-vaxxers have seized on Freed’s column to argue that #pandemic restrictions don’t make sense and that we should let the #coronavirus rip through Quebec and other places. Forget that Florida’s death toll is at least twice as high as Quebec’s.

4) Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has issued a steady stream of anti-scientific statements that are clearly politically motivated to shore up his base during the #pandemic. In April 2021, YouTube pulled one of his videos for urging no masks for children.

5) Apart from political aspirations, there may be another reason why DeSantis can afford to let #COVID rip through the Sunshine State. Florida’s hospital infrastructure is comparatively in better shape than Quebec’s. Please let me explain.

6) Florida’s hospital network is mostly private-for-profit, unlike Quebec’s single-payer universal system. Forbes magazine reported on Feb. 5, 2020, that profits for Florida HMOs (health maintenance organizations) jumped by 12% in 2018. See the article below.

7) As any U.S. frustrated doctor or anxious patient who has dealt with an HMO will tell you, there are plenty of exclusions in health coverage. That’s how HMOs make lots of money. They don’t have to accept every patient, as Canada and Quebec do.

8) It’s a question of two sets of values: one for a system that is profit-driven versus another that is based on common decency and fairness — no matter one’s income. But maintaining a public health system is a lot more difficult and expensive during a #pandemic.

9) Still, the chart below shows that the #pandemic is nonetheless weighing heavily on Florida, too. More than 86% of the state’s intensive-care unit beds are now being occupied by #COVID and non-COVID patients. How does that compare with the ICU occupancy rate in Quebec?

10) Premier François Legault has described the hospital situation in Quebec as “tight.” The Health Ministry has disclosed COVID-patient intensive care numbers but not the overall ICU occupancy rate, as it does with the province’s emergency rooms.

11) In the absence of overall ICU occupancy stats from the government, I had choice but to quiz Dr. François Marquis, the devoted chief of the intensive-care unit at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, just east of Olympic Stadium. This is what he had to tell me Saturday:

12) “Over the last three weeks, my ICU has been at over 100 per cent occupancy,” Marquis responded. “It’s very rare that it’s at or near 100%.” Marquis added that he’s pretty sure that the overall ICU occupancy rate in the greater Montreal region is at 100%.

13) If true, this would explain why Legault is so concerned about protecting Quebec’s public health system during the 5th wave, and why DeSantis may be able to afford letting it rip through Florida’s profit-driven hospital network. DeSantis still has some slack. Legault doesn't.

14) Again, it’s about the values we hold dear as a society. Do we want to care for our poor and vulnerable? Do we want to respect common decency and science? Or do we want to pursue the free-for-all in the Sunshine State? End of thread. Stay safe, everyone.

ADDENDUM: Didn't expect it this fast, but my Twitter thread has unleashed the fury of anonymous trolls tonight.

ADDENDUM TWO: On #COVID death numbers suppression in Florida, please click on this link, not that this will change the minds of any troll. climate.law.columbia.edu/content/covid-… And another link: climate.law.columbia.edu/content/covid-…