Covid deaths in the U.S. are higher than last year at same time

At this time last year, the Wuhan coronavirus was claiming around 1,000 American lives per day. It seemed to me that, absent a sudden and sharp decline in that number, Joe Biden would be our next president.

It must have seemed that way to Biden and his top advisers, as well. During presidential debates that occurred a little less than a year ago, Biden ripped Trump for his handling of the pandemic. The death count was the centerpiece of this attack.

So what’s the daily death count now, more than seven months into the Biden administration and with a majority of Americans vaccinated? It’s higher than a year ago at the same time.

In the past few days, between 1,300 and 1,700 American deaths have been attributed to the virus and its variants. A year ago, the number was between 1,000 and 1,100.

And, as noted, this is after the widespread vaccination of Americans. To be sure, it’s also with considerably more economic activity than was taking place a year ago at this time. Thus, the vaccines, developed during the Trump presidency, with a big assist from his administration, have improved our overall situation, but not the bottom line in terms of covid deaths.

Is Biden to blame for the high number of covid-related deaths occurring now under his watch? No, though it would have been nice if he hadn’t expressed strong suspicions of any vaccine developed under Trump’s watch.

But Trump wasn’t to blame for the covid-related deaths that occurred under his watch. This was a virus against which we had no defense. We have one now, but it’s imperfect and many people (of all races and political views) don’t want to take it.

If it was fair to hold Trump accountable for the death count in 2020, it’s fair to hold Biden accountable for the death current death count. I wish we could have a presidential debate now.

NOTE: All coronavirus death numbers cited in this post are from Worldometer.

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