Human sacrifice scenes in movies are usually pretty simple: there’s an altar, a knife, etc. Sometimes the scenes take place on a large pyramid to better emphasize a flow of blood or a falling head.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have witnessed a true mass human sacrifice, accompanied by a different kind of ceremony and distinctive ritual chanting. These ceremonies have taken place in the offices of Republican state governors, and the chants have intoned the slogan “freedom” as these elected officials have fought against school closures, blocked mask mandates, and downplayed the effectiveness of vaccines.
According to an article published this week in the Journal of the American Medical AssociationA huge number of Americans have died needlessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. These deaths cannot be blamed on Donald Trump for his threat reduction And Mishandling consequences. This tragic phenomenon was more local.
Nearly a quarter of a million Americans have died simply because their state governments refused to enforce good public health standards. They died to appease the twin gods of ignorance and politics.
The results of the study are clear and brutal.
If all states had imposed restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most restrictive states, excess deaths would have been estimated to be 10 to 21 percent lower than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year analysis period; conversely, the estimates suggest counterfactual increases of 13 to 17 percent if all states had restrictions similar to those in the 10 least restrictive states.
In other words, if every state had followed the measures used in the 10 states that the study found did the most to prevent COVID-19 by mandating mask-wearing, requiring vaccinations and limiting public gatherings, between 118,000 and 248,000 Americans would not have died.
“The death toll was likely significantly higher than it would have been in states that resisted imposing these restrictions, banned their use, or implemented them for only relatively short periods,” wrote Dr. Christopher Ruhm of the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
Conversely, if all states had followed the laissez-faire attitude of the least restrictive states, the number of unnecessary deaths would have jumped to between 271,000 and 447,000.
Not all restrictions were equally effective. While this may seem like an obvious measure, the study suggests that widespread school closures and restrictions on visits to nursing homes had minimal impact and may have done more harm than good when it came to factors like academic performance and social isolation. But other restrictions (like mask mandates) had a direct and significant impact, especially when comparing states at opposite ends of the pandemic restrictions spectrum.
“At the extreme,” Ruhn writes, “the excess death rate in Massachusetts was less than one-fifth that of Mississippi (115 versus 590 per 100,000).”
Ruhn doesn’t see Mississippi and similar states as impossible targets. He compares their approach to the restrictions imposed on Massachusetts by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
But in Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves quickly made opposition to public health measures a theme of his administration. end compulsory mask wearing and restrictions on schools and businesses even though the high level of deaths was immediately visible. He has continued this approach since the study ended in 2022. This has included a blocking bill schools and public bodies to check vaccination status, and reiterating its opposition to Obligation to wear a mask,
As the study shows, states largely followed the same patterns at the start of the pandemic: all had declared “states of emergency” by March 15, 2020, and the overall level of restrictions was high by early April.
However, a few months into the pandemic, things began to change as right-wing groups put pressure on lawmakers.
Considerable policy variation was observed in the second half of 2020, as states reduced or eliminated activity restrictions and, somewhat later, mask mandates. Mobility restrictions also declined rapidly during this period, as did mask wearing after early 2021. Vaccinations first became available in December 2020 and quickly became widespread, but with considerable geographic heterogeneity.
To make this clearer, Republican states quickly ended restrictions on gatherings and mask mandates. When vaccines became available, these same states did not impose mandates on schools or government agencies, leading to low vaccination rates.
As these policy differences have widened, so have the differences in excess deaths. These deaths did not occur early in the pandemic, when COVID-19 was poorly understood, treatment was uncertain, and there were shortages of needed medical equipment. They occurred months into the pandemic, at a time when some of the states that had been early to confront the disease had effectively brought it under control.
These deaths occurred while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an order that blocked the obligation to wear a mask, Threat to cruise lines who tried to verify vaccination status, and defunding of schools who tried to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Deaths have mounted as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been blocking vaccination mandates even in private companies, Wearing a mask is illegalAnd stripping power local governments and health agencies. They came as the governor of South Dakota. Kristi Noem bragged about how she kept her state “open” and denigrating the use of masks.
And these governors continue to act. DeSantis made his non-response to COVID-19 the center of his aborted presidential campaign. Abbott refuses to give in “emergency powers” that allow him to block vaccine mandates and other health directives. Noem was still singing about his refusal to protect South Dakota citizens at the Republican National Convention this month.
Again, nothing they had to do was impossible: other states have done it. They cannot even justify their actions on financial grounds. The study also shows that the cost of lives lost was far greater than any other expense.
Using estimates of the value of statistical life ranging from $4.7 million to $11.6 million, the estimated lives saved by strong restrictions (relative to weak restrictions) over the 2-year period were worth between $1.3 trillion and $5.2 trillion, or 6% to 22% of 2021 gross domestic product, providing a possible benchmark against which to assess this loss.
These are staggering numbers. But the value of human lives is extremely high. You would think that state governors would know that.
The staggering number of people who died because a bunch of red state governors chose to do so, not because they had to, but because they didn’t. Chosen to—implementing policies they can brag about at the next big Republican event is nothing short of devastating. These amoral governors may never answer for these lives lost in any meaningful way, but voters can ensure that those still in office get what they deserve at the ballot box.
Help us elect a candidate who has real concerns about public health and believes in science by contributing $5 to Kamala Harris’ campaign.