Based on the data here, the US will suffer its millionth COVID fatality next month.
I recall that at the start of the pandemic, Neil Ferguson predicted that if no steps were taken to stop COVID-19 spreading, there would be about 2.2 million casualties. With the current casualty figures despite all the steps that have been taken and the widespread vaccination program, his prediction - which was widely rejected at the time - now looks to me to be an underestimate.
The UK is doing better, but not much better. It's tempting, but unsupportable, to acquit this on Boris Johnson having a much earlier and much severer COVID experience than Donald Trump. That doesn't work because for a long time the UK had a higher COVID death rate than the US. A more likely reason is that Brits trust government/science more than Americans do, and are getting vaccinated and masking/isolating more.* But either way, Neil Ferguson's estimate for the UK also appears in hindsight to have been accurate or low.
*Apart from those partying at 10 Downing St, anyway.
(P.S. I would prefer no posts from MM in this thread)
I recall that at the start of the pandemic, Neil Ferguson predicted that if no steps were taken to stop COVID-19 spreading, there would be about 2.2 million casualties. With the current casualty figures despite all the steps that have been taken and the widespread vaccination program, his prediction - which was widely rejected at the time - now looks to me to be an underestimate.
The UK is doing better, but not much better. It's tempting, but unsupportable, to acquit this on Boris Johnson having a much earlier and much severer COVID experience than Donald Trump. That doesn't work because for a long time the UK had a higher COVID death rate than the US. A more likely reason is that Brits trust government/science more than Americans do, and are getting vaccinated and masking/isolating more.* But either way, Neil Ferguson's estimate for the UK also appears in hindsight to have been accurate or low.
*Apart from those partying at 10 Downing St, anyway.
(P.S. I would prefer no posts from MM in this thread)
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