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US states do not have a clearly articulated strategy. A clear strategy would be something like "apply mitigations and lockdowns as lightly as possible while kee

by roca 6y ago

US states do not have a clearly articulated strategy. A clear strategy would be something like "apply mitigations and lockdowns as lightly as possible while keeping R below 1 so the number of active cases continually declines, until we have a vaccine or we have suppressed community transmission". AFAIK no governor has said anything that clear. A lot of state actions seem to have been driven by a strategy like that, but a lot seem more like "people got tired of lockdowns and we kinda hope things might not get bad if we reopen, so we're reopening".

bhupy 6y ago
> but a lot seem more like “people got tired of lockdowns and we kinda hope things might not get bad if we reopen, so we’re reopening” This isn’t unique to the US, the entire world is playing a giant game of economic chicken with COVID, and the entire world is beginning to re-open, even without a vaccine or any sort of “plan”. Just like the EU, the US is a mixed bag. You have States like Germany with exemplary planning and strategic decision making, but you also have Italy’s and Spain’s. You have States like Washington, California, and Utah with exemplary planning, but you also have New York’s and Louisiana’s. As with any collection of generally autonomous governments (especially where the power to enforce lockdowns and issue curfews is vested), strategies can vary, outcomes can vary.
- roca 6y ago
  Sure, there are many other countries that likewise lack a clear strategy. But it's not good to grade on a curve here. Americans should be demanding a clear strategy, both from the states and from the federal government; they mostly aren't, and I don't know why.
  - bhupy 6y ago
    Nobody is grading on a curve here. The whole point is that, while it is fair to criticize certain States for their lack of a clear strategy (there are only a few), when it comes to COVID, the US as a whole is not a monolithic entity, it is a collection of States. Each State has its own government, and each government has its own infectious disease agency (each with billions of dollars in funding), a chief executive, and a legislature. People forget that individual American states have GDPs on par with sovereign countries. California is comparable to the UK, NY to South Korea, Texas to Canada. The US State with the lowest GDP per capita, Mississippi, is comparable to Portugal. At the outset of the outbreak, the vast majority of US States initiated systematic responses comparable to that of peer nation-states. Most citizens of most states ARE demanding a clear strategy from their State governments, and that's what they're getting. The CDC provides an advisory role, and has no authority to issue lockdown mandates, close businesses, close schools, or issue testing or mask requirements. The US States may rely on the CDC advice, but it can also choose to ignore it or supplement it with the recommendations of their own State disease control agencies. Keep in mind that the CDC and the FDA both dropped the ball multiple times during this outbreak (dragging their feet on approving new testing, flip flopping on mask policy). While it would be awesome for the Federal government to coordinate the perfect COVID response, the US is set up in such a way that the States don't need to rely on such an ideal.

by roca 6y ago

bhupy 6y ago

> but a lot seem more like “people got tired of lockdowns and we kinda hope things might not get bad if we reopen, so we’re reopening” This isn’t unique to the US, the entire world is playing a giant game of economic chicken with COVID, and the entire world is beginning to re-open, even without a vaccine or any sort of “plan”. Just like the EU, the US is a mixed bag. You have States like Germany with exemplary planning and strategic decision making, but you also have Italy’s and Spain’s. You have States like Washington, California, and Utah with exemplary planning, but you also have New York’s and Louisiana’s. As with any collection of generally autonomous governments (especially where the power to enforce lockdowns and issue curfews is vested), strategies can vary, outcomes can vary.

roca 6y ago
Sure, there are many other countries that likewise lack a clear strategy. But it's not good to grade on a curve here. Americans should be demanding a clear strategy, both from the states and from the federal government; they mostly aren't, and I don't know why.
- bhupy 6y ago
  Nobody is grading on a curve here. The whole point is that, while it is fair to criticize certain States for their lack of a clear strategy (there are only a few), when it comes to COVID, the US as a whole is not a monolithic entity, it is a collection of States. Each State has its own government, and each government has its own infectious disease agency (each with billions of dollars in funding), a chief executive, and a legislature. People forget that individual American states have GDPs on par with sovereign countries. California is comparable to the UK, NY to South Korea, Texas to Canada. The US State with the lowest GDP per capita, Mississippi, is comparable to Portugal. At the outset of the outbreak, the vast majority of US States initiated systematic responses comparable to that of peer nation-states. Most citizens of most states ARE demanding a clear strategy from their State governments, and that's what they're getting. The CDC provides an advisory role, and has no authority to issue lockdown mandates, close businesses, close schools, or issue testing or mask requirements. The US States may rely on the CDC advice, but it can also choose to ignore it or supplement it with the recommendations of their own State disease control agencies. Keep in mind that the CDC and the FDA both dropped the ball multiple times during this outbreak (dragging their feet on approving new testing, flip flopping on mask policy). While it would be awesome for the Federal government to coordinate the perfect COVID response, the US is set up in such a way that the States don't need to rely on such an ideal.