[2aProtectsTheRest]

I trust no data reported by the media. I understand that the data reported by health departments and the CDC is all preliminary and subject to revision as corrections become available, but it's the best data we have. We should focus less on the precise numbers (which are impossible to completely establish due to fog of war, government worker incompetence, etc.) and focus more on the policies and decisions from state and local governments that contribute to unnecessary deaths. Policies like forcing nursing homes to accept known-infected COVID-19 patients. The complete failure of state and local governments to provide direct, concrete assistance and guidance to caregivers for the elderly to help ensure their protection. How failed policies like shutdowns/lockdowns merely inspired panic among the population and drove masses of people into Costco and Walmart where COVID-19 spread like wildfire.

Focus on the WHY. The exact numbers will take years to establish and even then it will be estimates with some amount of uncertainty. Whether we're at 240,000 or 280,000 or 220,000 deaths isn't important. What's important is that we could be at half that number if the governors weren't completely incompetent in their responses and if the policies implemented didn't run precisely counter to all known good science on how COVID-19 spreads and how to control it.

[Paul R.]

The complete failure of state and local governments to provide direct, concrete assistance and guidance to caregivers for the elderly to help ensure their protection.

You can add the CDC to that list, too, IMO.

Those caregivers include the many taking care of vulnerable individuals in private home settings: Sitters, family members, etc. I have an almost 90 y/o Mom (in fairly good health for a 90 y/o) to care for, with some assistance from sitters. I have 5 N95's (no valve) for me or my wife going to the grocery, etc., but those N95s are getting long in the tooth, and getting more quality N95 masks has been impossible. (Which reminds me to check again, but I'm not holding my breath, so to speak.) In April I could still understand this. But, not anymore!

This is just one example of the rampant utter incompetence we are seeing.