"400,000 people would've been alive if Trump had just paid attention and tried to follow the plan that we gave him"

[meadowlander]

16. I've already answered your questions in 10.

As for state by state comparisons these are skewed by:
- urban versus rural population spread
- when Covid hit them worst and which variant they got (for example, California and New York were hit early with the deadliest strain)
- vaccination rates later in the game
- capacity and functioning in the local hospital system
- willingness to comply with various government mandates
- how deaths were attributed and reported - for example, Florida significantly undercounted deaths attributing them to flu unless there was an affirmative positive Covid test

There's more than enough data out there that shows that government response made a significant difference in death rates. And the countries that were most successful in keeping the death rate down were the ones that were able to make a coordinated response at the national level.

I'd also add that Trump made the states compete with each other for ventilators and said more than once that they were prioritising red states for them.

Government interventions only work up to a point if there is no willingness among the population to cooperate with them. Imagine a world where Trump came out on Day 1 and did nothing other than say "This is serious. We need to put politics aside and listen to the scientists. Stay at home, wear a mask, wash your hands, don't hoard, get vaccinated as soon as you can. We're going to prioritise resources to the states that need them the most."

You know, leadership.

What would those death rates look like then? I can guarantee they'd be a lot lower, regardless of specific actions either the federal or state governments took.