WHILE most countries seem to be changing their narratives by having Covid-19 under control, the United States of America just surpassed 700, 000 Covid-19 deaths, the highest death toll in the world at the moment.
And at the rate they are going, they might soon reach a million deaths especially with the approaching winter. Many Americans have now died from Covid-19 than any single catastrophe in the nation’s history.
These numbers are really shocking especially if we consider what the US is at the global level. It is the world’s greatest superpower. It tops in a lot of sectors including economy, military, health, technology.
Remember it is the US that gave the world the internet which later on gave us social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter etc.
America is among the leading nations in manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines such that everyone in the US who is 12 years and older can take any jab if they chose to.
To top it up, there are even booster shots for those who need further doses. And More so, they have access to a lot of advanced drugs, such as remdesevir,regeneron, which is soon to be on the market, molnupiravir.
Then why so many deaths, just what more should America do that it hasn’t done to try curb the pandemic?
COVID-19 THE DEADLIEST PANDEMIC IN US HISTORY
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Covid-19 is officially the most deadly outbreak in recent American history even surpassing the estimated US fatalities from the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The 1918 flu – which came in three waves, occurring in the spring of 1918, the fall of 1918; and the winter and spring of 1919 – killed an estimated 675, 000 Americans, according to the Centres for the Disease Control and Prevention. It is considered America’s most lethal pandemic in recent history up until now.
Deaths from Covid-19 now average more than 1, 900 fatalities per day, Johns Hopkins data shows. The nation is currently experiencing yet another wave of new infections, fuelled by the fast-spreading delta variant.
Dr. Howard Markel, a physician and medical historian at the University of Michigan said “it is time to stop looking back to 1918 as a guide for how to act in the present and to start thinking forward from 2021.”
“This is the pandemic Iwill be studying and teaching to the next generation of doctors and public-health students,” he said. COURTSEY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Dr David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who has analysed publicly reported state data, said it was safe to say at least 70, 000 of the last 100, 000 deaths were unvaccinated people.
And of those vaccinated people who died with breakthrough infections, most caught the virus from an unvaccinated person, he said.
“If we had been more effective in our vaccination, then I think it’s fair to say, we could have prevented 90 percent of those deaths,” since mid-June, Dr Dowdy was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
THE FOLLOWING COULD BE SOME OF THE RESAONS
- ATTTUDE
Most Americans just seem not to care anymore about Covid-19. To some it is still just a hoax meant to take away their freedom. Obviously people who think and have such beliefs are not expected to adhere to any public health guidelines; they won’t mask up or get vaccinated. - FREEDOM
The US is land of the free as it was founded on that principle. Americans are free to choose whatever they want, however they want to live. Whatever or whoever they choose to worship be it Satan.
They are one of the first countries to give freedom to homosexuals, transsexuals etc. People have the right and freedom to own guns, which occasionally end in wrong hands and there been a lot of gun violence.
This same “freedom” has been incorporated in the fight against Covid-19. Even if vaccines have been made mandatory in most places, most people still won’t take them. Rather many are opting to resign from their jobs than take the vaccines.
And some are using religious freedom as a basis for seeking exemption from vaccination.
- POLITICISING THE PANDEMIC
Covid-19 has been so politicised in the US such that whatever viewpoint one may seem to take, they will easily be aligned to a certain political ideology. It has become difficult to even have scientific discussions on certain topics lest one is labelled.
Some topics that should be of wholesome scientific discussion but now are somehow sensitive arguably due to political overshadowing include topics like Ivermectin, Natural Immunity just to mention a few.
The current distribution of infections and deaths in the U.S. seem to be tied with the difference in general public opinion depending on their political affiliation and beliefs which differ from State to State .
REUTERS REPORTS:
The state of Florida suffered by far the most deaths of any state during that period, with the virus killing about 17, 000 residents since the middle of June. Texas was second with 13, 000 deaths. The two states account for 15 percent of the country’s population, but more than 30 percent of the nation’s deaths since the nation crossed the 600, 000 threshold.
Some Republican Governors, such as those in Texas and Florida, have sought to ban mandatory masking in their states, citing individual freedoms. The Democrat-run state of California, on the other hand, announced on Friday that Covid-19 vaccinations will be compulsory for all students
PLEASE LET US CHOOSE WHAT TO ‘COPY’ (KUKOPELA)
USA has such an incredible influence in the world, this includes entertainment, music, Hollywood, etc. Just recently the world was affected when the social media platforms Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram were down globally because of the ongoing probes in the US. This is the power of America.
Likewise, the US has of influence on global health in particular, a lot of influence on how this pandemic is being handled, from FDA, CDC recommendations, financing etc. Sadly also the US has a lot of influence when it comes to misinformation, Antivax movements and the like.
Numbers don’t lie, they are telling us what side to take, what to copy (kukopela) and what to just watch and leave alone. This is where peoples’ attitudes, decisions, beliefs directly affect others as a matter of life and death.
For clearly a good portion of America is showing the world how not to handle this pandemic. Condolences for all those lost to this disease.
Please let us choose wisely. Kindly continue observing the golden rules of Covid-19 prevention, have the correct attitude, please don’t politicise this fight. And please get vaccinated.
ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION. UNTIL THEN, ALUTA CONTINUA.
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