We also know more about how the virus spreads and treating people who are severely ill with it than we did 3-4 months ago. Part of why Germany’s death rates wer

We also know more about how the virus spreads and treating people who are severely ill with it than we did 3-4 months ago. Part of why Germany’s death rates were a lot lower than its neighbors is likely due to having far more ICU beds per capita before the crisis, but also, hitting our infection rate peak a bit later. Those two things combined meant that our doctors had more time to figure out what does and doesn’t work, and never came close to the horrible decisions doctors in Italy had to make - Germany was even able to take in several hundred patients from Italy and France. Also of interest: Germany has almost as many ECMO-equipped hospitals as the US does, despite having 1/4 the population and a tiny fraction of the land area.