Introduction
Over the last 11 months, the U.S. flailed around with a depressing and disastrous response to Covid-19*. This response featured an overall lack of Federal leadership, coordination and oversight, instead leaving the response to the patchwork of states. The results were; a general lack of planning; the politically motivated and calculated denial of resources to the “Blue States”, with the concomitant lavishing of what resources were available on the “Red States”; a near total lack of cooperation with other countries and the World Health Organization (WHO), that included the withdrawal of U.S. government's approximately $400 million annual contribution; blatant profiteering by well-connected insiders selling and otherwise manipulating needed medical supplies and equipment; the weird spectacle of the President acting as a huckster for unproven cures and nostrums; and a complex set of accusations and “name calling”, i.e. the phrase “China Virus” used widely by President Trump and his operatives; all these among many other inept, cruel, and corrupt responses.
The disastrous mismanagement of the pandemic revealed flaws in the American profit centered healthcare model, which was ill equipped to respond to the emergency. Through this crisis it became clear which workers are essential to maintenance of life - frequently those compensated the least, and also exposed the vulnerability of essential low paid workers to exposure to death and the disease.
In a parallel manner the economic crisis and aspects of the last years’ crises, have exposed the basic weaknesses and flaws of the Neo-Liberal Finance Capitalism that dominates the West, particularly the U.S. The pandemic provided cover for the theft of public wealth into the hands of the most wealthy and from the working class and now the intention to shield businesses from failing to protect workers from unsafe working conditions, has emerged as a ruling class goal. About 85% of the funds, some $3.2 Trillion, allocated by Congress for Covid-19 relief and economic stimulus, were siphoned off by the rich, their corporations, other well connected groups like lobbyists, and various professional service providers.
The U.S., at this point in its history, still has the high level scientific and professional talent and institutions to lead a competent response, but has lost the political, socioeconomic, and cultural capability to respond to the challenge of the Covid Outbreak competently in contrast to the far more effective responses of several Asian societies. The decline in American institutions is widely noted, and in fact an earlier example was the extremely poor response of the U.S. government, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to the 2005 Katrina Hurricane. Critics at the time pointed out that the U.S. government and private organizations responded significantly much more quickly and effectively to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire in 1905 than it did Hurricane Katrina. That being the case despite the fact that in 1906 San Francisco was considerably farther away, and was only reached by transcontinental train, while New Orleans was just a few hours flight away from the centers of power and the supply depots of FEMA. The process of the destruction of both the New Deal and the Great Society era legacies of social democracy and scientific and technological competence in the Federal and State Governments continued apace after the 2005 Katrina Hurricane events.
After Katrina, the American right-wing continued its assault; undermining any ability of the liberal bourgeois government to accomplish anything by repeatedly cutting taxes for the rich. Taxes, overwhelmingly those levied on the wealthy, were cut by a total of some $15 Trillion during the last 3 Presidential regimes; that was done with the direct aim of defunding the non-military and non-police/prison sectors of government. Then there is the disastrous Global War on Terror, (GWOT) emptied the coffers of the federal government by another $10 - $12 Trillion. These various issues do not even consider the tens of trillions of dollars that were given to the rich, by the Federal Reserve Bank, in a now 2 decades long series of murky and hidden transactions that “created” trillions of dollars and moved it into the coffers of the rich. By the time of the Covid-19 outbreak the U.S. The Federal Government, and most state and local governments were in far worse economic shape than they had been in the early 2000s This situation was exacerbated by a uniquely corrupt and calculating President surrounded by a cabinet of the most craven personages conceivable.
Now, entering into this overall milieu of governmental dysfunction and near-bankruptcy, 2 new vaccines are being distributed and administered in the U.S. One of those two vaccines, the Pfizer BioNTech Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccine, has stringent extreme low temperature transportation and handling requirements. These requirements complicate the distribution and administration of the vaccine. The last immunization campaign of this magnitude was the Polio Vaccination operation, that ran from mid 1950s through 1961; when Polio was declared exterminated in the U.S. It remains to be seen how this current, largely privately run campaign will compare to the publicly administered Polio Vaccination Campaign in the U.S. Science and Technology have advanced immeasurably over what was available in the 1950s. In comparison, however, the socioeconomic, political, and cultural situation in the U.S. has deteriorated markedly.
* FaunaAndFlora, noticed a mistake in the lead sentence that has been rectified, and I thank him while noting his/hers/its odious political and ideological positions. Those views are frequently expounded upon in the nearly 66,000 comments he/she/it has posted but hides behind a veil of secrecy in Discus
Response to Covid-19 by the U.S. and the West, Versus That of China and East Asia
There are 6 Asian societies, plus New Zealand and Australia, two Western societies located in that part of the world, that all managed to get Covid-19 under control using standard public health measures (control over entry of people from places with high infection rates, adequate testing regimes with short turn-around times, vigorous contact tracing, and gasp!! universal mask wearing). Taiwan, S. Korea, and Japan did so without imposing any lock down whatsoever; while Singapore and Hong Kong managed to do so with strictly limited lock downs. China, that suffered the first outbreak and that had to contend with the disease as a surprise event occurring within their society; achieved control using a serious lock down strategy, along with the standard public health measures. So, while the West is mired in generalized second or third wave Covid-19 outbreaks, the advanced Asian nations now only have some relatively minor localized outbreaks to contend with. The table below lists the raw numbers of deaths, and the death rate, for various countries. That data reflects significant differences between how the West and how the advanced Asian Nations dealt with Covid-19 so far, as of December 22, 2020.
Here is the official scorecard for Covid-19
Table 1: Death Rates from Covid-19, Selected Countries*
First the High Death Rate Societies: (These tend to be dominated by Neo-Liberal Economics; though some, particularly the European countries, still have significant social benefits although those benefits are under severe and ongoing attack by Capital):
Country..................Total Deaths.........Death Rate % of Total Pop**.......Death Rate / Million
USA........................... 326,954....................0.0988%.............................................987.8
Brazil..........................187,322.....................0.0881%............................................881.8
Mexico.......................118,598......................0.0920%............................................920.1
U.K. .............................67,616.....................0.0996%............................................995.8
Italy..............................69,214.....................0.115%............................................1,144.0
France..........................60,900.....................0.0933%.............................................932.6
Spain............................49,260.....................0.105%.............................................1,052.6
Argentina.....................41,997.....................0.0929%.............................................929.1
World.........................1,713,152.................0.0219%..............................................218.7
Next, the Medium Death Rate Societies: (some of which retain more Social Democratic characteristics):
Country..................Total Deaths.........Death Rate % of Total Pop**.......Death Rate / Million
India............................146,414....................0.0106%.............................................106.1
Iran...............................54,003.....................0.0643%.............................................642.9
Russia...........................51,912.....................0.0356%.............................................356.1
Germany.......................27,662.....................0.033%...............................................330.1
Netherlands..................10,633......................0.062%..............................................621.8
Poland..........................25,783......................0.0681%............................................682.1
Israel...............................3,111......................0.0359%............................................357.6
Honduras........................3,034......................0.0306%............................................306.5
World.......................1,713,152......................0.0219%............................................218.7
Finally, the Low Death Rate Societies: (These societies either are Socialist or have more tightly controlled Capitalist economic systems. These countries' socioeconomic systems are not as dominated by NeoLiberal Austerity policies. They also tend to be countries with significantly greater levels of social cohesion):
Country..................Total Deaths.........Death Rate % of Total Pop**.......Death Rate / Million
Indonesia......................20,257.....................0.00741%.............................................74.1
China..............................4,634.....................0.00032%................................................3.2
Japan...............................2,944.....................0.00233%..............................................23.3
Venezuela..........................939......................0.00330%.............................................33.1
Australia.............................908.....................0.0036%...............................................35.6
S. Korea..............................722.....................0.00141%.............................................14.1
Senegal...............................372......................0.00222%............................................22.3
Cuba...................................137.....................0.00121%..............................................12.1
Hong Kong.........................132.....................0.00176%..............................................17.6
Uruguay..............................119.....................0.00343%..............................................34.3
Singapore.............................29.....................0.00048%................................................5.0
New Zealand........................25.....................0.00052%................................................5.2
Taiwan....................................7.....................0.000029%..............................................0.3
World.........................1,713,152....................0.0219%..............................................218.7
*All figures are as of December 22, 2020.
**I performed the calculations to determine the "Death Rate as Percentage", and to determine “Death Rate per Million”, using the data from the sources noted below. (Sources: "Number of novel coronavirus {COVID-19} deaths worldwide as of November 4, 2020, by country", Nov. 4, 2020, John Elflein, Statistica, at < https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deaths-worldwide-by-country/ >: "Countries in the world by population (2020)", n.d., anon, Worldometers, at < https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/ >).
The above data demonstrates that as of December 22, 2020: in the U.S. the Covid-19 death; is 3,406.9 times the Covid-19 death rate in Taiwan; it is 308.9 times the death rate in China; it is 205.8 times the death rate in Singapore; it is 190.0 times the death rate in New Zealand; it is 81.7 times the death rate in Cuba; it is 70.1 times the death rate in S. Korea; it is 56.1 times the death rate in Hong Kong; it is 44.5 times the death rate in Senegal; it is 42.4 times the death rate in Japan, it is 29.9 times the death rate in Venezuela, a country suffering under a harsh U.S. embargo and sanction program that has greatly impaired its ability to obtain medical supplies; it is 28.8 times the death rate in Uruguay; it is 27.4 times the death rate in Australia; it is 9.3 times the death rate in India; it is 3.0 times the death rate in Germany; it is 2.8 times the death rate in Russia; and it is even 1.5 times the death rate in Iran, another country that is unable to obtain many needed medical supplies, largely due to draconian U.S. enforced sanction and embargo terms, made much harsher by President Trump. Distracting the U.S. population, from these grim figures and extremely unfavorable comparisons with other developed and even developing countries, are at the root of the disinformation and propaganda campaign that far-right operatives are conducting. This campaign has promoted such canards as "herd immunity", not in the context of a vaccination campaign (absolutely unheard of in medical and epidemiological circles). Herd immunity, not as part of a vaccination campaign, is something that capitalists would never implement with their livestock herds (that are in fact far more important to them than the life and well being of the mere human underlings who inhabit the U.S.).
An example frequently brought up by American Covid-19 deniers is that Sweden, which implemented no public health measures to control the virus, had a death and infection rate similar to the U.S. and Western European societies. The facts are that Sweden has had 8,167 deaths from Covid-19, for a death rate of 0.081%. The most comparable other countries are: Norway with 405 deaths and a death rate of 0.0075%, Finland with 511 deaths and a death rate of 0.0092%, and to a somewhat lesser degree Denmark with 1.070 deaths and a death rate of 0.0185%. So Sweden had a death rate 10.8 times that of Norway, it had a death rate of 8.8 times that of Finland, and it had a death rate 4.4 times that of Denmark. Norway, Finland, and Denmark all used the standard public health measures while Sweden did not.
Table 2: Death Rates from Covid-19, Scandinavian Countries
Country..................Total Deaths.........Death Rate % of Total Pop*.......Death Rate / Million
Sweden...........................8,167....................0.0809%............................................808.6
Denmark.........................1,070....................0.0185%............................................184.5
Finland...............................511....................0.00922%.............................................92.9
Norway...............................405...................0.00747%.............................................75.0
World........................1,713,152...................0.0219%.............................................218.7
*All figures are as of December 22, 2020.
**I performed the calculations to determine the "Death Rate as Percentage", and to determine “Death Rate per Million”, using the data from the sources noted below. (Sources: "Number of novel coronavirus {COVID-19} deaths worldwide as of December 22, 2020, by country", Dec 22, 2020, John Elflein, Statistica, at < https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deaths-worldwide-by-country/ >: "Countries in the world by population (2020)", n.d., anon, Worldometers, at < https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/ >).
Comparing Sweden to the U.S. and a few other Western European countries: Sweden has a death rate of 808.6 / million; this compares to death rates of the U.K. 995.8 / million, France 932.6 / million, Italy 1,144 / million, Brazil 881.8 / million, Mexico 920.1 / million, and the U.S. 987.8 / million. The situation then is, that it seems that Sweden's lack of stricter public health measures, managed to push their death rate up to nearly the same level as those of the four Western European countries, two major Latin American countries, and of the U.S.; and up to around 10 times the rate for Norway and Finland and 4.6 times that of Denmark. It is also worth noting that, Sweden's Covid-19 death rate is 2,789.7 times the Covid-19 death rate of Taiwan, 252.8 times the death rate of China, 168.5 times the death rate of Singapore, 155.6 times the death rate of New Zealand, 66.8 times the death rate of Cuba, 57.4 times the death rate of S. Korea, 46.0 times the death rate of Hong Kong, 36.4 times the death rate of Senegal, 34.7 times the death rate of Japan, 24.5 times the death rate of Venezuela, 23.6 times the death rate of Uruguay, and 22.5 times the death rate of Australia.
Table 3, List of Countries by Covid-19 Death Rate per Million, In Descending Order, is posted below. It lists all 33 countries mentioned in the tables and text above. They are ranked in descending order of Death Rate per million. The ranks listed in the table are not necessarily their respective rank in the global statistics, though in some cases it is. But rather is their respective rank, among the 33 countries discussed in the text and tables above.
A Note on the Statistics and Figures Presented Here
The reader must consider the following caveats as to statistics. Brazil and India both have probably reported much lower death rates, and infection rates, for Covid-19 than are really the case. India has such a huge population, that includes many desperately poor people who have little contact with the health care system. The urban poor, working in casual and irregular labor jobs, were largely forced out of the cities and many died walking back to their home villages, they might not have died directly from Covid-19 but certainly died as part of the overall disease situation, and the socioeconomic response to it. The fate of those people, whose mortality numbers are not even vaguely known, cannot possibly be tallied up. Brazil also is certainly reporting infection and death rates that are significantly below the real figures. In the case of Brazil the ideological stance of the Bolsonaro Regime plays a significant role, and the ongoing low-intensity war against the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon Basin continues unabated, along with a severe continuing struggle in the favelas of the major cities. Sub-Saharan African countries that generally have pretty rudimentary health care systems, for the poor majority of their populations, are with only one exception not included in the list. Sub-Saharan Africa composes somewhat less than 20% of the global human population. The fact that for most of the continent we do not have reliable Covid-19 Death Rate figures, and the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s youngest population profile and the young, famously, suffer from a far lower rate of Covid-19 fatalities both factors affect the figure for World Covid-19 Death Rate in ways we cannot precisely quantify. Senegal is included in the tables, because it is, in many ways, the exception. Senegal survived the 2014 – 2016 Ebola outbreak that raged in neighboring countries, by promptly applying effective public health measures. Senegal quickly closed their land borders with Equatorial Guinea that suffered 3,814 cases of Ebola, with 2,544 deaths. Senegalese Public Health authorities also worked to trace, find, quarantine, and when necessary treat any people who had been exposed to Ebola. They did all this quickly, before major problems had developed. Senegal only had 1 case of Ebola, and that person survived. The reported figures for Covid-19 deaths in Senegal no doubt reflect reality; arising as they do in a country with a vigorous, but relatively low-cost public health sector. Venezuela reports low numbers of Covid deaths, this is despite being subjected to U.S. naval threats, terrorist attacks by U.S. supported operatives, and a strict embargo and sanction regime that keeps many medical supplies from arriving. Venezuela still has a large and effective Cuban medical mission working in the country, and those Cuban medical personnel undoubtedly play a major role in keeping the death rate low. Cuba has the best second lowest death rate figures for any Western Country on the Earth, this made possible by their excellent and comprehensive health care system that manages the Cuban population’s health for less than 1/10th what the U.S. spends per capita. Among Western nations, only New Zealand, whose Public Health efforts benefited greatly from that island nation’s remote location, has a lower Covid-19 Death rate than does Cuba (5.2 / million vs 12.1 / million). And New Zealand had to resort to a nationwide lockdown, Cuba did not. China has not changed the reported number of dead from Covid since at least Nov 4, when I first accessed these data sources. That does seem to be rather unlikely.
No comments:
Post a Comment