Columbia University says that Trump could have avoided over 130,000 COVID-19 deaths with a more robust pandemic response

'He has blood on his hands': Columbia University study shows that Trump could have avoided over 130,000 COVID-19 deaths with a more robust pandemic response "The U.S. should have – and could have – done better to protect the nation," researchers wrote in the study. Oma Seddiq Business Insider

Upwards of 130,000 coronavirus deaths were "avoidable" if President Donald Trump and his administration had acted sooner and implemented widespread public health precautions, according to a new Columbia University report released on Wednesday. 

"The U.S. should have – and could have – done better to protect the nation," the authors wrote in the study, titled "130,000–210,000 Avoidable COVID-19 Deaths—and Counting—in the U.S."

"Particularly, it is the inability or unwillingness of U.S. officials to adapt or improve the federal response over the course of the pandemic that has strongly contributed to the nation's uniquely high Covid-19 fatality rate," they added.

The report comes as the pandemic continues to rage across the country, with infection and death rates on the rise in at least two dozen states, based on data compiled by the New York Times. ...

Other high-income countries, including South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada, and France, have been more successful in handling the pandemic and have recorded far low death tolls.

Columbia University researchers found that if the White House had replicated the public health interventions that such nations took, then the US could also have had a significantly lower mortality rate.

If "the U.S. had followed Canadian policies and protocols, there might have only been 85,192 U.S. deaths – making more than 132,500 American deaths 'avoidable,'" the authors wrote. "If the U.S. response had mirrored that of Germany, the U.S. may have only had 38,457 deaths – leaving 179,260 avoidable deaths." ...

The country's disproportionate death toll stems from delayed federal action, an insufficient testing regimen, a lack of consistent mask-wearing guidance, and the failure of top officials, notably Trump, to model best practices, researchers wrote. ...