4 ms·

I don't know if it's fair to compare MIT to Italy. Italy has a very aging population and MIT is very young and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the cou

I don't know if it's fair to compare MIT to Italy. Italy has a very aging population and MIT is very young and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country.

jacquesm 7y ago
The question is whether or not you are willing to take that chance. The people responsible decided - rightly, in my opinion - that they do not want that responsibility. Risk = impact times likelihood.
greedo 7y ago
And Italy has some of the best healthcare in the world. When you have only so many ICU beds and ventilators, it doesn't matter.
roel_v 7y ago
"and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country." I hear people say that all the time of all sorts of places, but what does that mean? Does Boston have (beyond some baseline) more respiratory aid machines than other places? More virus or respiratory system specialists? Better or more nurses? If they do, why? It doesn't matter if they have a bunch of world class brain surgeons. I'd imagine the area would have roughly the same level of materials and skills in this specific domain that other big developed areas have. I wonder what makes people so sure about the specific capabilities of all the areas they claim to be (much) better than other areas.
- droithomme 7y ago
  Massachusetts was one of the first states to attempt universal health care coverage. They also have some genuinely fantastic research hospitals. The best in the nation? Not sure and maybe not. But "some of the best", yeah, that's quite reasonable. And good enough? I'd say ... no.
  - roel_v 7y ago
    "Massachusetts was one of the first states to attempt universal health care coverage. They also have some genuinely fantastic research hospitals." shrug. The position you need to defend, the matter under discussion, in this case is: how does that relate to them being better equipped to deal with this specific virus/outbreak/pandemic/situation?
- wespiser_2018 7y ago
  Totally agree. Massachusetts has some of the best healthcare in the country if you specifically benefit from some of the research going on at Mass General or another research hospital. But even then, just going to Mass Gen for a respiratory infection won't really let you benefit from the concentration of expertise. You just need 02, possibly a tube, and attention from non-sick healthcare workers.

I don't know if it's fair to compare MIT to Italy. Italy has a very aging population and MIT is very young and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country.

jacquesm 7y ago

The question is whether or not you are willing to take that chance. The people responsible decided - rightly, in my opinion - that they do not want that responsibility. Risk = impact times likelihood.

greedo 7y ago

And Italy has some of the best healthcare in the world. When you have only so many ICU beds and ventilators, it doesn't matter.

roel_v 7y ago

"and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country." I hear people say that all the time of all sorts of places, but what does that mean? Does Boston have (beyond some baseline) more respiratory aid machines than other places? More virus or respiratory system specialists? Better or more nurses? If they do, why? It doesn't matter if they have a bunch of world class brain surgeons. I'd imagine the area would have roughly the same level of materials and skills in this specific domain that other big developed areas have. I wonder what makes people so sure about the specific capabilities of all the areas they claim to be (much) better than other areas.

droithomme 7y ago
Massachusetts was one of the first states to attempt universal health care coverage. They also have some genuinely fantastic research hospitals. The best in the nation? Not sure and maybe not. But "some of the best", yeah, that's quite reasonable. And good enough? I'd say ... no.
- roel_v 7y ago
  "Massachusetts was one of the first states to attempt universal health care coverage. They also have some genuinely fantastic research hospitals." shrug. The position you need to defend, the matter under discussion, in this case is: how does that relate to them being better equipped to deal with this specific virus/outbreak/pandemic/situation?
wespiser_2018 7y ago
Totally agree. Massachusetts has some of the best healthcare in the country if you specifically benefit from some of the research going on at Mass General or another research hospital. But even then, just going to Mass Gen for a respiratory infection won't really let you benefit from the concentration of expertise. You just need 02, possibly a tube, and attention from non-sick healthcare workers.