it didn't even require a "great declaration" to realize, as a thinking layperson, in ~april 2020 that this pandemic was serious but not nearly as deadly as the

it didn't even require a "great declaration" to realize, as a thinking layperson, in ~april 2020 that this pandemic was serious but not nearly as deadly as the bubonic plague or the spanish flu, and that the elderly and unhealthy were disproportionately affected. that in turn made it obvious that targeted efforts were the right approach, but both parties were unwilling to do the right thing and let the opportunity pass for wielding and centralizing political power.