fbrissette
Well-known member
THIS.
It's bad, but it's not Italy. People dont undertand you cant simply compare populations in 1v1 fashion.
Things Italy has working against it that America doesn't.
1) Second oldest population on planet earth (HELLO!!!!! This is kind of a big deal)
2) Smoking rate almost twice that of America
3) Their healthcare system is a train-wreck compared to America
4) They didn't take coronavirus seriously until they were way past where we are now
5) Relatively few people get the flu vaccine = higher inpatient rates
And more.....
1- true
2- I'm surprised it's only twice
3- This is false. Italy ranks very highly (and ahead of the US) on most health care systems rankings. Life expectancy testifies to that (not the only factor) being top 5 in the world (US not even in the top 30). Take into account the large percentage of uninsured people in the US, and the obesity rates and you have additional problems.
4- From what I have seen, the US response pretty much follows the same scenario as Italy. Don't forget POTUS spent several weeks spreading disinformation which cost the US response dearly.
5- no clue, and not sure how this relates to the problem at hand, since healthcare systems capacity are designed to handle the flu.