Time September 21/September 28, 2020ForTy-Five days beFore The announcemenT oF
the first suspected case of what would become known
as COVID-19, the Global Health Security Index was pub-
lished. The project—led by the Nuclear Threat Initia-
tive and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security—
assessed 195 countries on their perceived ability to
handle a major disease outbreak. The U.S. ranked first.
It’s clear the report was wildly overconfident in the
U.S., failing to account for social ills that had accumu-
lated in the country over the past few years, rendering
it unprepared for what was about to hit. At some point
in mid-September—perhaps by the time you are read-
ing this—the number of confirmed coronavirus-related
deaths in the U.S. will have passed 200,000, more than
in any other country by far.
If, early in the spring, the U.S. had mobilized its ample
resources and expertise in a coherent national effort to
prepare for the virus, things might have turned out dif-
ferently. If, in midsummer, the country had doubled
down on the measures (masks, social-distancing rules,
restricted indoor activities and public gatherings) that
seemed to be working, instead of prematurely declar-
ing victory, things might have turned out differently.
The tragedy is that if science and common sense solu-
tions were united in a national, coordinated response,
the U.S. could have avoided many thousands of more
deaths this summer.
Indeed, many other countries in similar situations
were able to face this challenge where the U.S. ap-
parently could not. Italy, for example, had a similar
per capita case rate as the U.S. in April. By emerging
slowly from lockdowns, limiting domestic and foreign
travel, and allowing its government response to be
largely guided by scientists, Italy has kept COVID-19
almost entirely at bay. In that same time period, U.S.
daily cases doubled, before they started to fall in late
summer.
Among the world’s wealthy nations, only the U.S.
has an outbreak that continues to spin out of control.
Of the 10 worst-hit countries, the U.S. has the seventh-
highest number of deaths per 100,000 population;
the other nine countries in the top 10 have an average
per capita GDP of $10,195, compared to $65,281
for the U.S. Some countries, like New Zealand, have
even come close to eradicating COVID-19 entirely.
Vietnam, where officials implemented particularly
intense lockdown measures, didn’t record a single
virus-related death until July 31.
There is nothing auspicious about watching the sum-
mer turn to autumn; all the new season brings are more
hard choices. At every level—from elected officials re-
sponsible for the lives of millions to parents responsible
F
for the lives of one or two children—
Americans will continue to have to make
nearly impossible decisions, despite the
fact that after months of watching their
country fail, many are now profoundly
distrustful, uneasy and confused.At this point, we can start to see why
the U.S. foundered: a failure of leader-
ship at many levels and across parties; a
distrust of scientists, the media and ex-
pertise in general; and deeply ingrained
cultural attitudes about individuality and
how we value human lives have all com-
bined to result in a horrifically inadequate
pandemic response. COVID-19 has weak-
ened the U.S. and exposed the systemic
fractures in the country, and the gulf be-
tween what this nation promises its citi-
zens and what it actually delivers.
Although America’s problems were
widespread, they start at the top. A
complete catalog of President Donald
Trump’s failures to address the pandemic200,000
EXPECTED U.S.
COVID-19 DEATH TOLL
BY MID-SEPTEMBER
261,000
AMERICANS WHO
DIED IN WORLD WAR I,
THE VIETNAM WAR
AND THE KOREAN
WAR, COMBINED
Friends and family mourn the death
of Conrad Coleman Jr. on July 3 in
New Rochelle, N.Y. Coleman, 39,
died of COVID-19 on June 20, just
over two months after his father
also died of the disease