The real problem with this comment, is that early on people probably did die OF covid.
Along the way, death certificates were coded as such if people died WITH covid. I wouldn’t be surprised if George Floyd was a covid death stat since he had covid when he died.
NY spiked with deaths early in 2020. Florida racked up Death stats later.
Per the CDC website (yes I know....work with me), in 2020 NY had the second highest death rate per capita. Florida was 40th. In 2021, Florida had the 18th highest death rate. NY was 30th.
All that said, this is such a lame comment.
In the beginning of Covid, I would say all politicians regardless of party can be excused to a certain degree, so many things were unknown about Covid it was probably prudent to be cautious.
However, in a couple of months it became pretty clear the Covid hysteria was being used as a political weapon which carried on with the vaccine and to this day it’s still going on.
Those politicians who saw what was happening and made adjustments should be applauded those who continued the hysteria not only in 2020 but into all of 2021 should be scorned.
Further, those politicians who have failed to apologize or offer some type of contrition about their Covid decisions should be remember the next time they assure us of anything.
I don’t if you will accept this as a friendly amendment, but here goes ...
During the first half of 2020 COVID deaths approx. equaled excess deaths. This means, as you say, COVID was killing people who wouldn’t ordinarily have died at that time.
By August 2020, excess deaths were zero. COVID deaths merely displaced deaths that ordinarily would have been attributed to flu and pneumonia.
By October 2020, we had the Great Barrington Declaration laying out the proper principles to be followed when society is faced with a pandemic. Mostly, to protect the vulnerable.
https://gbdeclaration.org/#read
Since Governor DeSantis followed these principles, I would hope that he names some of the prominent experts in infectious diseases to the appropriate places in the federal government if he is elected President. I would hope for the same thing were former President Trump to return to office; but, is he (Trump) painting himself in a corner attacking DeSantis on the pandemic response?