How America Bungled the Plague | NYT Opinion

A year ago, the United States was regarded as the country best prepared for a pandemic. Our government had spent nearly two decades strategizing for a doomsday scenario. So what went wrong?
How is it that America, which wrote the global playbook for pandemic response, accounts for just 4 percent of the world’s population yet more than 20 percent of the world’s coronavirus deaths?
One of the most important functions of journalism is to provide accountability, so in the video above, Johnny Harris dives deep into an exploration of what went wrong and when, and who’s to blame and why.
Subscribe: bit.ly/U8Ys7n
More from The New York Times Video: nytimes.com/video
----------
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch.

[@vylbird8014]

All was lost the moment face masks took on a political meaning.

[@michelleashford6730]

From an outsider perspective all was lost when trump took office.

[@alisonselje2809]

@@michelleashford6730 from an insider perspective, all was lost when Trump took office.

[@azahias9]

Exactly. You CANNOT politicize common sense and expect progress.

[@dinamosflams]

@Kris LVgirl he was winning, now It is time for him to start to lose, he is an enemy of decency, the US and the world

[@Supercon57]

He did point out Trump's live white house address where he unnecessarily stated (and reiterated multiple times) it was voluntary "I won't be doing it", but didn't emphasize just how much of an impact that really had on the nation Within the same breath Trump downplayed it's severity and undermined the advice of the health experts effectly making it taboo to wear a mask The issue is how you gauge something like that We'll never really know just how things would have been different if Trump would have just stepped aside and let the health experts do the talking He put his two cents into just about every live address, the most powerful man in the world, the leader of the US, people look to him for leadership, when he speaks people listen..and yet here we are.

[@2002alexandros]

NYT won't regret having Johhny on board, excellent choice

[@TonyShyaka]

Ikr?

[@hafizgilangsantoso295]

Indeed

[@ericyang9404]

:o so this is where he's going! amazing. This video is a lot more Voxy now :D

[@lloydthurstondinwiddieakag297]

I like this. Very voxy.

[@mdjay1000]

Hes fwiiiiiiiiiiine hello Johnny

[@Arander92]

The fact that you didn’t mention Cuomo’s screw up with the nursing homes when talking about NY really bothers me, not gonna lie

[@jimmlygoodness]

They filmed this before anyone knew about that.

[@xdxdsheep]

@@jimmlygoodness Everyone in NYC knew that last year. Just nobody knew how bad it was. Turns out, it was really bloody bad

[@Treddian]

That and Pelosi telling people they're racist if they didn't want to go party in China Town.

[@robdowns9339]

Political hit piece. Objectively, Biden team has done NOTHING to flatten the curve. Deaths still going up, solutions are obviously not there.

[@jimmlygoodness]

@@robdowns9339 Because we had to nip it in the bud before it spread and mutated, which might have happened if we had an adult for president at the time. Likely though it wouldn't have changed much since half the country thinks that wearing a mask and social distancing temporarily is too much of a sacrifice to make for the country that they claim to love so much.

[@daniellehurrell6620]

I'm surprised I'm saying this, but I'd venture to say that the U.S. would have fared much better with Bush in this situation. It seems he actually took it seriously.

[@piotrd.4850]

Given how things are going, Bush and Obama will be (?) remembered as last functional Presidents of USA.

[@pamelqtaylor8335]

I have criticized Bush in the past and now I regret that Jeb Bush lost the nomination, if I could have a time machine I would go back to 2016 election and champion Jeb Bush to win the nomination and ultimately the presidency. The country would be better off if it happened.

[@daniellehurrell6620]

@@pamelqtaylor8335 Yeah, that's a scary scenario, but I think we are in a much scarier reality. The Republicans of the late 90s and early 00s are much different than they are now. At least then they operated in some base of reality, I guess.

[@chihayakenji1893]

Goes a long way to show how far the GOP has fallen. Say what you want about GW Bush, but at least he cared enough about the country to prepare against a pandemic. Present day GOP only cares about catering to the insanities of the noisier part of their voter base.

[@FJFuentesCO]

Comes down to we had the wrong president....oops. I don't think historically there could have been a worse choice in terms of President or administration.

[@SuperPillage]

Scientists: "Flatten the curve" America: "vertically?"

[@vinaygonela1473]

Alan Lee, do you know what are the port of entrees of USA that highest number of people come to from abroad, visit or transit, then you will know why people like Andrew cuoumo. Port of entrees are dictated by federal regulations.

[@stourleykracklite7663]

Scientists: "Masks won't help you." America: "Are you f'ing kidding me??" Scientists: "Lol, too late- we sent them to China. Except ours."

[@ehoc5248]

@@alanlee67 look at those numbers again friend

[@adamsmith3413]

Missed Milan I suppose.

[@adamsmith3413]

There is very little data to support the use of cloth masks which is why the CDC was on record opposing their widespread use in March 2020. Nothing since has changed.

[@HenningGu]

I like how the NYT allows him to keep his style.

[@dhruvadebbarma5050]

Yes yes very important

[@mairedaly4926]

I cannot imagine how Bush, who set out to prepare his country, must have felt watching all this unfold....

[@amarrevolver4452]

Don't worry about him, he loves death and destruction so pretty sure he's okay

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

It’s his party that decided that corruption was the very point of government.

[@sdefonta]

I honestly don't think he cares

[@mrose3299]

Yes, he began the playbook of response to pandemics. As a Dem, I never thought a president would make me miss Bush Jr. But dear God, I did. I'll take a competent leader I completely disagree with over a demagoge any day. Long live our Democratic Republic...

[@mairedaly4926]

@@mrose3299 Thank you, that's a clear thinking answer. I'm a left leaning, old school feminist & was appalled at the invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 etc., but, credit where credit is due on this issue.

[@THEchiQ]

Watching this now is possibly even more heartbreaking than it was at the time 🥺

[@THEchiQ]

@@NeganJeff who said shocking?

[@NeganJeff]

@@THEchiQ I accidentally replied to the wrong feed.😢😥😰

[@THEchiQ]

@@NeganJeff oh whew! I thought I was missing something! 😝

[@NeganJeff]

@@THEchiQ 🤭 Sorry

[@richardb7854]

even worse now. the number at the end of this piece was 'just' 200k, it has since surpassed 5x that and still growing 😥

[@MarkReviews]

It turns out I'm not actually just a fan of Vox, or The New York Times...I'm a fan of Johnny Harris! I'll watch him anywhere. Good move picking him up, NYTimes.

[@Cole_Bailey]

Same!! Congrats Johnny!! This is amazing.

[@EsmePalaganas]

SAME

[@uhhhhh262]

He has his own channel, check it out

[@rounaksharma5701]

So true bro

[@MarkReviews]

@@uhhhhh262 I'm subscribed there too!

[@RyanNgFilms]

Johnny Harris was open for the market and NYT jump on that so fast LOL. Amazing piece of work.

[@mr.nav2226]

And that was a really really good move by NYT

[@petrichor259]

@@mr.nav2226 tbh vox was stupid to let go of him

[@nowshadshahariarpavel5473]

Game changing desition .

[@andreylucass]

Vox is failing.

[@funkball]

Would love to see an update to this now, almost 1 year later. So much has happened. And so much has not changed too.

[@anetgom6]

All Johnny Harris videos for me desrrve an award. His work is amazing.

[@ElenaTaber]

A Johnny Harris & NYT collab?! Today is a good day

[@harrisonbates559]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@franzmeier4472]

suspected he was a shill. now i know.

[@mattwaf]

Sadly Johnny Harris lost me as a fan 40 seconds into this video. Edit: I'm pretty sad about it , I loved his borders series.

[@rickardkaufman3988]

@@franzmeier4472 He's an independent journalist. He alternates between news outlets. It's well known he's a liberal if you see his twitter feed but tries to keep things less political most of the time. Sad that borders ended. I liked that.

[@kenhiett5266]

Inconvenient facts for those who like to scapegoat a single human for a worldwide pandemic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKeyYoapbsefnqs

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ― Issac Asimov

[@puyakhalili]

Wow That quote cuts deep! When did he say it 😔😔

@@puyakhalili 1980

[@silentkilla14]

I could not put it into better words then this. This is literally what america is dealing with and its sad.

[@MarcoTheMediterranean]

So true

[@Lichking1019]

I'm a teacher and I see this first hand

[@rbwirth12]

Two years later, we know A LOT more. It might be a good idea to revisit and adjust this opinion video.

[@lisamed88]

As a health care provider in the EU with a degree in global health, I'm sorry to burst your bubble....but the US doesn't have a great health care system. But most importantly you also don't have a great any system. In these situations health care is just as important as social systems, the economy and the general level of education of the people. On average, that is just better in the EU 🤷‍♀️

[@Affluent-Ghetto-Blackman]

You can’t tell that to Americans that makes you a woke communist in this country.

[@rana-rq8on]

This is a good documentary but I find it extraordinary that Europe is held up as the "good example" when so many Asian countries have been doing way better from the very start and have continued to keep COVID numbers low.

[@AndersHenke]

I do second this, as especially Singapore and Taiwan did a really great job. However, it’s easy to downplay their performance with “but that country is an isolated island with less citizens than a single US state, of course it’ll do better” or similar things. From that sense, comparing the US to the EU is much more approachable or relatable for most US-Americans: dozens of individual states with their own governments (“just like the US states”) and a slightly higher population than the US, and with cultural relationships between the US and many European countries (just think about how many US citizens consider themselves to be of Irish, German or Italian heritage, just because an ancestor of their did. cross the Atlantic 150 years ago…).

[@lilaclizard4504]

@@AndersHenke culture is a big factor yes & should be included, but in reality, for accurate comparison, they should have listed city sizes, travel numbers from China, diagnosed cases in January etc for Australia & America, cause America was on par with Australia at the start of this! Both were island continents, with no virus able to enter, other than by flying in through controlled airports & number of people/cases flying into Australia from China at that time of year was higher than for the US. Europe comparison I guess is easier for them to stomach though Also, Singapore did well, along with all the "early movers group" countries, but Vietnam is in fact the best performer & always gets missed, because they did SO well that they don't even get noticed at all! 95 million people & a land border to China & almost no covid cases or deaths!

[@AlessandroSartori82]

Asian countries were prepared to a pandemic. I Just think about the good work in South Korea: they already had an app to track the desease and a lot of quick corona virus test. Here we are talking about political decisions. I live in Italy and we were the first EU country hit so hard. We couldn’t fight back the virus testing or tracking, so we decided to shut the country down. I lived closed in my house for almost 60 days. Our government decided to act for the good of our population. Trump is a populist, he takes choices for votes. He doesn’t care about Us people and you should always remember this.

[@lilaclizard4504]

​@@AlessandroSartori82 South Korea & others had experience with SARS1 & lots of deaths with that, so that was why they were prepared, but in reality South Korea is a bad example, they came to attention due to failing to contain the virus & then managing to get control later. Most Asian countries did far better, never losing control in the first place. South Korea spoke of apps, but in reality they were tracking phones & atms & invading privacy & despite all of that, their contact tracing was in fact a disaster. The only reason they managed control was because their virus was confined to a religious cult, so they only had to track down all cult members to track down all virus cases, which was pretty easy when the cult insisted on attending their church each week despite the outbreak. When the virus in South Korea made it out of that cult & entered a rainbow person bar, they found that their discriminatory practices against those people lead to a total failure in all tracking systems & loss of control of the virus & a need to close almost everything down to contain it. South Korea did well with PR, but in reality that's all. They also benefited greatly from the world effectively banning anyone from traveling there, which prevented any re-introductions of the virus. Other countries did much better than them. Italy, like you say was caught out, same as Asia was with SARS1. Could have happened to anyone, nothing Italy did wrong other than wrong place, wrong time. Countries like Greece are in fact far more impressive than South Korea when factoring everything in, in particular location & difficulty in preventing further introductions, not to mention health system & available finances

[@MajorMlgNoob]

Vietnam and New Zealand should be the gold standard smh

[@noahbowie5985]

I can't believe I'm saying this but George W Bush was really smart to prepare for this

[@jasonwilkins1969]

As much as I dislike George W Bush, he did care about the job. Trump just doesn't care. He ignores reading presidential briefings, he dismisses experts. It's like having Joffrey Baratheon as king

[@doctorwholover1012]

Yep. I'd rather have a broken clock that's right twice a day than a broken clock that sets the house on fire 🙄

[@dalpz205]

@@doctorwholover1012 🤣 That was good

[@r.p5380]

@@tuckerbugeater ...

[@joxysurge9631]

I can't believe i'm saying it either , but George Bush READ A BOOK AND TOOK ACTION !

[@no_name4796]

"How does the richest and best country to handle a pandemic ends up with such a graph?" My brain: "trump?"

[@bernadettesandoval3990]

DR FAUCI!

[@joanandreanoweyland57]

@@bernadettesandoval3990 No: Trump.

[@nguyeninhhung2091]

stupidity?

[@beddythecorgi4269]

Obesity

[@NewAgeDIY]

Americans keep shouting “ we are the greatest country in the world” The fact is they’ll probably end up being a Third World country in a few years if they don’t smarten up and pay attention to science. A global pandemic and climate change is double threat a serious one at that.

[@lauralebron2554]

This is a gross over-simplification of a very nuanced and complex issue. Remembering what I have seen on reports for that time period it does also seem to cherry pick data that supports a particular narrative. I’ll would bet that if he compared US state to US state there would be a very different graph. I am skeptical that this is accurate reporting.

[@ThisIsTechToday]

Johnny Harris is phenomenal. A great benefit to anyone that works with him!

[@markgupton1313]

Who is Johnny Harris? The young propaganda pusher.

[@adrianmacrel5950]

I came here just to see him

[@Clown81178]

@@markgupton1313 your mom

[@williamfarnaby]

so... this dude is cool ok, nice graphics and pacing and soundtrack. but. at 4:55 that reporter said that China was indeed concealing information but, somehow, we (who is 'we'?) had channels inside China and the WHO to know what was really happening.... sorry mate, but those 2 sentences make you not trustworthy . so how do you trust any report from these channels? how do you trust Xi Jingping when Beijing told WHO there is nothing to worry? how do you trust WHO? how do you trust the so called test kit coming from China? The whole focus of this "Opinion piece" (so it is not journalism, it seems) was to tell people how America faced the covid 19 (tw, it's not a plague guys, numbers are not so high fortunately, please stop instilling fear on people s mind) but Why not mentioning how each single State in the US handled the situation? What about Fauci and his team? why not mentioning how allowing all those protests was potentially dangerous? I dont see any numbers when it comes to test, people positive and death from covid19. Also you cant compare USA and Europe. 1. way moooore chinese people travel to and from US. 2. How do I know numbers from each single European countries are accurate? This is not journalism.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

Vox’s loss is The NYT’s gain.

[@robinprice6879]

The NYT was smart to work with Johnny Harris. He is brilliant and his level of curiosity is a wonderful asset

[@wolfgangkranek376]

pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/stacey-lennox/2020/08/31/the-new-york-times-does-accidental-journalism-on-covid-19-testing-n867152

[@rofidganteng1]

yeah. its good piece for campaign against trump. as we new NYT is left leaning / democrats. but its is good video. good campaign. Not like any other LEFT media or usual NYT that just say ORANGE IS BAD - TRUMP IS BAD without good argument

[@bobbart4198]

@@rofidganteng1 Coming up with Anti-Trump arguments isn't difficult .... The Donald does half of the work for you, just with his general behavior, and that BIG, BIG mouth of his ...

[@carpejkdiem]

Is there even a possibility we can eliminate the lft/rt paradigm provided us that both are on the same team of totalitarianism as the end goal furthering their THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY BACKBONED ● UNITED NATIONS INITIATIVE OLD BIBLICAL FIRST ATTEMPTED BY NIMROD NEW WORLD ORDER AGENDA??? I think the majority are uneducated and love to fight instead of WAAAAKE UUUUP to whats really actually taking place over the last 70 yrs.

[@bobbart4198]

@@carpejkdiem The Left / Right fixation in America is not really necessary, but given the diversity of the population AND the way it formed (conquest and slavery) it was probably inevitable. In the meantime, events in recent years (without mentioning names) and the polarization they have awakened in the United States - and the Western World - have not improved the situation.

[@sta5011]

Funny how none of the media outlets are able to do stuff like this good job Harris

[@andrewdunckley]

Best quote from that time period... "America is going to be sick of winning" DT... Congratulations,,, you won...

[@sophsbookss]

this man is so well-read his bookshelf is literally sagging

[@rogerdavidsmith8942]

Nice being in a country where you can read,worship,and get your news how ever you please.. But why do it ,if you hate America so much,go to one you like. I here IRAN has a lovely library with plants of anti American literature and stories how Jews ruined Hitlers career. Man stop holding yourself back,Leave !

[@nunpuiisingson298]

@@rogerdavidsmith8942 what even are you saying

[@rogerdavidsmith8942]

@@nunpuiisingson298 just like our media,free to change the facts,as long as you go along. . So many haters.But dont leave. Not till Trump we never had plagues, viruses,Fires,Hurricanes and anything we can blame a man who's not a politician and has only been here barely 4 yr?. Not 30yrs of Democrat that's seen Colorado River drained, race riots instigated by a bias media, people calling for socialism ,that has no idea the people at our southern Border are fleeing from. A Travel ban back in February would have slowed down the virus,not stop it..But our doctors could start getting ready. But he was called a racist. .

[@ghostlyducky362]

Roger Smith A few things I want to point out, it was meant as a joke maybe you should look into the internet before you comment on these things and also some people aren’t lucky enough to just move when they don’t get their own way, if they were America wouldn’t have anyone living in it apart from dumb Trump supporters.

[@LuLu-yg2qh]

So well read!!! He is just repeating what the new York times told him to say. Scripted and misinformed report to influence the masses to vote for the Democrats. A complete disgrace. Never read anything on the new York times about how the Obama, Clintons and bushes administrations where the most corrupted.

[@Hoodoomoo]

Johnny Harris + NYT + Data + Criticizing the COVID-19 response? Yes please.

[@williamfarnaby]

so... this dude is cool ok, nice graphics and pacing and soundtrack. but. at 4:55 that reporter said that China was indeed concealing information but, somehow, we (who is 'we'?) had channels inside China and the WHO to know what was really happening.... sorry mate, but those 2 sentences make you not trustworthy . so how do you trust any report from these channels? how do you trust Xi Jingping when Beijing told WHO there is nothing to worry? how do you trust WHO? how do you trust the so called test kit coming from China? The whole focus of this "Opinion piece" (so it is not journalism, it seems) was to tell people how America faced the covid 19 (tw, it's not a plague guys, numbers are not so high fortunately, please stop instilling fear on people s mind) but Why not mentioning how each single State in the US handled the situation? What about Fauci and his team? why not mentioning how allowing all those protests was potentially dangerous? I dont see any numbers when it comes to test, people positive and death from covid19. Also you cant compare USA and Europe. 1. way moooore chinese people travel to and from US. 2. How do I know numbers from each single European countries are accurate? This is not journalism.

[@denzeltan4190]

something that can give Trump a heart attack

[@a.h.tvideomapping4293]

Will Farnaby II Woah chill shill

[@Anis-zc9rw]

@@williamfarnaby Dude Johnny Harris is probs the best Journalist and journalists dont need too be non-biased

[@Ockto_]

@@williamfarnaby what do you mean we can't compare America to Europe? 80% of that graph was after china, america, and the eu closed their borders and stopped travel. After that chinese infected play no role in determining the amount of cases in a one of these areas.

[@stev6963]

Impressive work as always, Johnny. Congrats on the nomination!

[@kevindrone]

Congrats Johnny on your emmy! Stellar piece.

[@LauraTeAhoWhite]

The fact that George Bush could've done a better job speaks volumes.

[@jarehelt]

Bush killed enough Iraqis to make up for it...

[@LittleB2007]

He read a book. That only puts him way above Trump.

[@DarknessUnresolved]

Um, Katrina would like a word...

[@johnsampaio2106]

So could've Obama which shouts volumes.

[@lolarusna4828]

LB2007 BAHAHAHAHAHA 💀

[@tixx8175]

I am here for Johnny Harris and his magic on Story telling

[@TonyShyaka]

Same

[@kenster8270]

He's a national treasure!! 💚 Vox are gonna regret their choice to let this talented contributor slip away.

[@NH-bh5zq]

I recently watched the tv series about Tschernobyl and although this crisis was very different what stroke me most was how leaders tend to deny information that doesn't fit their agenda. It's very frightening and frustrating to watch...

[@rocklandrodgers]

I’d love to see this updated for today.

[@SomeYouTubeTraveler]

Or today, now that we know where it came from and whether masks were effective

[@just__alina]

I lost my father due to covid and this documentary literally gave me chills and tears. This documentary is definitely otherworldly.

[@rachel_sj]

I’m so sorry for your loss. You and countless others didn’t deserve to have your father die as a result of apathetic incompetence.

[@nommomuntu]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[@eave01]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

[@rafaelvicho3551]

Sorry for the loss....

[@hermes5275]

Hope ur ok.. sorry for ur loss

[@Techninjaspeaks]

Johnny Harris!

[@mouyeii]

didn´t even notice this was NYT until the end wow

[@raybinas3315]

YASS THE SAME REACTION I WAS SHOOKT!

[@RolandoCocom]

Excellent work Johny Harris

[@kenhiett5266]

Inconvenient facts for those who like to scapegoat a single human for a worldwide pandemic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKeyYoapbsefnqs

[@MuerteBolonesa]

@@mouyeii I 100% thought it was Vox

[@michaelambrosano938]

I don't find the incompetance heartbreaking,..I find it INFURIATING!!!!!

[@papiyoda2530]

I watched this video the day it came out. 1 year later, on the sept 29th, my Dad's best friend passes away.

[@ThatSilentGuy]

Ireland's prime minister, Leo Varadkar, was a doctor before becoming a politican. After he stepped down in June 2020 he even went back to the hospital and worked as a doctor again. That's probably why Irish people would listen and stay at home?

[@speedier3478]

Soo true

[@glee3349]

That’s awesome :0

[@susantoohey2710]

I'm from Ireland and I can assure you that Leo did that for the papers and nothing more. Our government are one of the most corrupt in the world. Nothing has been invested into our healthcare system in the last year and a half.

@@susantoohey2710 True. I detest Leo. But at least he had a coherent statement. We took the pandemic on as the serious problem it was. Though of course a big part of why it was so dangerous to us is our shambles of a health system.

[@susantoohey2710]

@ for sure I agree with what you are saying also. When the first Irish statement was made I was watching it online while trying to get out of Asia asap. I had been in lockdown in China a month prior to that. I was so proud of our country but at things progresses it's looking more and more clear to me that our government had no idea what they were doing from the onset. That their decisions are based around the possibility of staying in power and not for the good of the people. I also believe that the Irish government are not making the decisions for our country, the EU is. Since returning from living in China I'm seeing so many commonalities between Europe and the CCP. I don't trust our government for a moment.

[@simondrexler3272]

As someone who lived in the US for several years, "learning from other countries" seems to be a fundamentally un-American philosophy.

[@nicholaslalhmingmawia1289]

Oh.... conservative 😂😂😂

[@ThePinkBinks]

As a country, they're a bratty teenager. Every other country needed a few wars to settle down. Don't get me wrong, I think they should skip straight to peace talks, but still the anthropomorphic description fits.

[@jhca4671]

@@ThePinkBinks Excuse me, with that logic we should all listen to Japan, an country and a state continued for more than 2200 years uninterrupted? Is this what you meant?

[@ThePinkBinks]

J H C A No my logic says look at the rest of the world, don't just look at one part of it. At the moment America is only looking to America for answers. It would be just as daft to only look at Japan for answers too. You misunderstood my train of logic.

[@skye.s2515]

Yup welcome to anti-intellectualism

[@bdempster44]

I'd like an updated video. With all the omicron surges, and everyone saying it's inevitable, it seems like only one country in the world has actually contained it without massive shutdowns and economic disruptions. Can we get a 2022 Taiwan video?

[@demven04]

What a remarkable journalism. My respect.

[@geneshifter]

I'm a scientist and professor here in the US. We are trying as hard as we can to educate but when people PREFER to be ignorant there is very little we can do.

[@dennisduran8500]

Are you a left wing educator or do you use common sense?

[@benjaminmontenegro3423]

@@dennisduran8500 not everything is political.

[@Affluent-Ghetto-Blackman]

@@dennisduran8500 Funny considering right wingers are anti common sense

[@sketchy.wanderer]

The idea of "Corona did not affect me, so it must be a hoax" is a complete lack of empathy

[@koharumi1]

Trump says it is real so if he says it is real as well asothers then it is real

[@kevins3821]

Complete ignorance

[@Matt-fl8uy]

OP - Agreed. It's also truly cruel to those who have lost people they cared about to COVID to then essentially argue that they are lying.

[@jungkooks80dollarmattress42]

There are ppl who have died of Covid who refused to believe they had it until the very end so it isn’t really driven by any form of logic..

[@jasonwilkins1969]

Sadly common thinking among conservatives. It doesn't matter unless it hurts me...then it is real

[@theayesha147]

11:39 this part is just... i have no words

[@markmaish6087]

Not surprised here in America more concern was harming the economy.

[@FilmPeak]

I find it absolutely huating and on-point that when they start talking about deaths, they start with a photo and a name, then only photos, then only numbers...

[@DalsoKajason]

The guy in the video has got so many books that the shelf is literally bulging at the sheer gravity of knowledge stored in it.

[@deshaunjackson8188]

Maybe he should actually read some of them?

[@Kenneth_James]

Those are magazines on that shelf

[@Trund27]

P. Enisenvi Troll

[@emilychb6621]

@@deshaunjackson8188 How is one supposed to be reading a hundred books and magazines at the same time?

[@nancywutzke5392]

@DBR Liamg Oh...bam...snap! Good come back. These people that don't read think books are just for show. I remember my stupid ex taking one look at my shelves and said, in wide eyed amazement, "Have you read all these?" I was like, Yeah, duh!? That's why they're here. Should've been my first clue. He didn't last long. I prefer my men to have brains.

[@vaibhavumbarkar3712]

This is heart breaking 💔..

[@kathykimes5724]

Great video! Best video to give a guideline and timeline how the virus blew out of control

[@dominickshinal7074]

Johnny Harris is working with the New York Times! I’m so glad!

[@LV_Allure]

Oh yes, 2 liberal minds working together, not biased at all!🙄🙄🙄 please give me a break, stoping listening to the mainstream media.

[@dominickshinal7074]

The New York Times is rated by media bias fact check as Left Center and highly factual reporting. Johnny Harris has done some incredible work abroad with Vox as well though you can infer he might be a liberal fellow. So there is some level of bias but this is also clearly marked as an opinion piece. And I make sure to keep that in mind as I view it.

[@nimishkhokhar4009]

Yay Johnny Harris, nyt was wise to use your talent

[@fl.sal.27]

NYT, this is your best recruit of the year. Congrats Johny.

[@kenhiett5266]

The largest International travel industry in the world is what happened. The most citizens and green card holders abroad at any given time is what happened. As long as we are the center of world commerce we will aways be vulnerable to heavy early seeding to a virus with an R0 in the range of Covid. It's just an inconvenient fact Trump was one of the first world leaders to shut down flights from China. Only bested by Italy. In fact, he actually made the decision the same day as Italy but it took a couple more days to implement due to our much larger travel industry. This was during a time the Democrats and media were calling Trump xenophobic and overreactionary for doing so.

[@alang9480]

@@kenhiett5266 The U.S. got most of its cases from Europe after that happened, so can't say it was a complete response. Better than nothing I suppose.

[@kenhiett5266]

@@alang9480 Except Trump was early to shut down flights from Europe as well. Trump would have been crucified if he didn't allow our citizens and green card holders repatriation. You obviously don't remember how little we knew at that time. Trump followed ALL the recommendations of Fauci and Birx. Just another inconvenient fact. Epidemiologists and virologists all over the world were flailing wildly. South Korea had strong policies already in place because of their much closer connection and history with other viruses from China, so kudos to them on that. However, the world's experts were overwhelmingly late to get this right. Hindsight is always so convenient.

[@kenhiett5266]

@@alang9480 Some European countries are doing better than others just as some U.S.states are doing better than others. People forget we live in a Republic. Trump hasn't been running policy on Covid, our individual Governor's have been running policy on Covid. Minus the Democrat controlled states of N.Y. and N.J. we would have Covid mortality rates we could brag about on the world stage.

[@joshc441]

Basically, we had the play book to win the game m, but Coach Trump didn’t even look at it.

[@earvetta]

The reason he didn't was that it was written by Former President Obama anything that had his name on it DT destoryed it

[@noelgenoway9360]

@@earvetta It was written by Bush and besides Humpty Dumpty Trumpty ..........can't read!!!

[@phg0922]

Watching Don't Look Up made me check this out again. Sheessh The similarities in response is soooo accurate

[@oladimejiolaolorun243]

I lost my mum to COVID-19, she was a nurse and got it from work, Johhny this is amazing! Thank you ❤️

[@recluseren]

Oh my I am so sorry :'( she is truly an american hero, thank you for sharing her story. We let her down, but she refused to do the same. Much love to you and yours

[@Street0yster]

this is just what happens when you politicize something that has no reason to be politicized.

[@MajorMlgNoob]

The GOP likes to politicize serious issues

[@LuLu-yg2qh]

Covid is just a political tool to detail the election. The new York times is pro Democrats. Trying to influence the sleepy masses with scripted, misinformed report. They are all in it. Never seen so many politicians and the media being afraid of one man. Obviously he knows things that they are afraid he might bring to light. Hummm can't wait to find out. The best is still to come!!!!!!

[@MajorMlgNoob]

@@LuLu-yg2qh I've seen toddlers with better critical thinking than you

[@lindasmith2240]

Have seen toddlers with more common sense than all of you combined. Good luck with the election!!!! Not a Trump or Biden supporter by the way.

[@MajorMlgNoob]

@@lindasmith2240 ok Linda

[@frankG335]

It's not just extraordinary incompetence. It's sociopathy.

[@kashisharora4950]

Kudos for the emmy nomination man, you deserve that award and even more. Keep doing what you do, you're the best.

[@pyramid_iremide]

Let's be real, a bunch of us are just watching because of Johnny Harris

[@zxyatiywariii8]

That's why I'm here! 🙋🏾‍♀️

[@kenhiett5266]

Inconvenient facts for those who like to scapegoat a single human for a worldwide pandemic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKeyYoapbsefnqs

[@Picturehubzw]

guilty

[@Wally-pu2hh]

Who's John Harris 🤔 never heard of him . . But , he's obviously spreading disinformation

[@kenhiett5266]

@@Wally-pu2hh Spreading disinformation is something you highlight in your resume when you're hoping to work for the New York Times.

[@User-of-internet]

We are here because of Johnny Harris.

[@bo_mieke]

We are brothers we unite

[@lindasmith2240]

Bias journalism. Nothing new from him or the new York times.

[@michaelcombrink8165]

I really appreciate Johnny's work, I have some questions about this vid though

[@michaelcombrink8165]

How many tests were being administered in America and Europe along this chart Did Europe run out of tests, or hold tests at any points along this time frame If USA was testing say 10k a day and Europe was testing 5k/day for dinner stretches then that could make a big difference

[@michaelcombrink8165]

What tests comprise these numbers at each time Some tests bias false negative, others bias false positive Loads of people were getting crazy results saying positive one second, negative the next etc

[@vannk73]

And today over 630,000 deaths, most of them due to the same incompetence.

[@tinkerer7813]

Sorry to jump on to the Johnny Harris bandwagon, but I do so because he, in all honesty, seems like one of the most impactful communicators in new age journalism. He can put things in perspective and place the importance and weight of a situation beautifully. Thank you.

[@FrancyKanae93]

Being Italian, I can attest to the statement about the effectiveness of the lockdown. In March, while we were locked in and scared, I used to spend hours on KZbin to destress, just to find all of my beloved American youtubers living their best lives outside, having parties. Not a word about corona. That was a major red flag that things weren’t going to pan out as they should have. I’m so sorry the actual outcome of this pandemic is a disaster. Use this anger and frustration to fuel a movement for change. This November, VOTE America! Vote!

[@rajuseth1683]

thanks to itallian n spanish,indian govt showed them as reference that situation is getting dire,and thus won the confidence of indians to shut whole country down for next 3 months,it is unfortunate that we arent rich so couldnt close it forever,and now cases are rising we feel another lockdown should be done in winters

[@N0GG1N]

Vote for who though. the GOP has shown to be pretty incompetent but Biden is literally fighting against the things he created.

[@Merlin_Chhana4]

Actually When Trump announced closing of economy... The left is barking like a dog.... Now all the blame goes to Trump... Do you smell something fishy.... Talking from political point of view.... The left Democrats are the worst enemy of the United States... Their governor refused to close the economy Trump can't do anything about it if you understand how things work here... Now after so many people contract and died the left put all the blame to Trump... If I am not mistaken among the Western countries Trump was the first to ban travel across China.. And you know what the left Democrats called him Xenophobic.... Have you seen a so called peaceful rally... People were gathering uncontrollable while the virus still spreading nobody care... After few months there's Republican rally... All the Fake medias and leftist shout out the red didn't maintain social distancing bla bla bla.... Hypocrites..... And this particular Video is a big Lie.... I'm Indian American.. Never have a political feelings before but then this time a realised what is happening exactly between the Democrats and republic... I will vote for Trump this time.... This videos is Lie stupid lie... You know what he said Trump was informed by both WHO and Xi Jing ping as early as January..... Ufffffff..... Ufffffff..... As if Trump was the only President warned by Who and China... What about the rest of the world... When Trump imposes travel ban WHO accused him.... You know what WHO at last announces its pandemic at last on 11th March.... It's too late... Meanwhile the Chinese communist Party never ever announce it's contagious and pandemic until late March .... On January Taiwan find out on their own that it's contagious human to human... When they informed about this to WHO... It was rejected..totally rejected from the WHO.... It's so sad to have A Democrats party here in USA... I feel myself a citizen after 15 years of being work here... I love India as well as America... I don't wanna see the fall of America... Trump is the only one right now who can make America Great again.... 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@atomusbliss]

For Who?? I'll be voting 3rd Party, again. The greatest threat to American Democracy is our Democratic Party! The other choice? Double D Donnie Drumpf.

[@atomusbliss]

@@N0GG1N Orange is the New Black Lives Matter! Kamala too.. he made his career locking up Black Men, she hers locking up Black Women! Hey Hey My My

[@matony19]

is there part 2 or sequel to this video? Would be interesting as well

[@George-jn7qm]

Gerring rational for one second. The NYT has to admit that our health data is so incomplete. The level of infection noew needs to be compared to the pre pandemic levels. Analysis needs to be done as to how the background data compares to the present hospitalizations!

[@lalakuma9]

Just because the US has all the best things, it doesn't mean that everyone will get a share of those things.

[@RobertMJohnson]

which was neve promised by anyone

[@anchouse94]

@@RobertMJohnson sure. Have fun living in the US

[@RobertMJohnson]

Anna Braudo how can I not with all that I have?

[@anchouse94]

@@RobertMJohnson Glad for you! But remember that it's only a matter of luck. Should anything happen to you, you're on your own. Unlike in most of European countries. And even with luck, there is a ton of things you don't have in the US that make life so much easier and more enjoyable. And these things are a given in Europe P.S. Also... ehm... the video above?

[@RobertMJohnson]

@@anchouse94 a ton of things? like what? the autobahn?

[@kaiplue]

This feels a lot like a Vox video and I'm not complaining

[@jamesbedford7327]

Welp, Johnny has previously done work/worked for Vox

[@Ockto_]

The issue is? The main problem with vox is their bias. This video may feel "voxy" but it's just stating fact.

[@onlythegracee]

Beheeyem yeaa it’s just the same type of video presentation format

[@CD3MC]

Johnny's Vox show (Borders) was literally cancelled 2 weeks ago.

[@kenhiett5266]

The largest International travel industry in the world is what happened. The most citizens and green card holders abroad at any given time is what happened. As long as we are the center of world commerce we will aways be vulnerable to heavy early seeding to a virus with an R0 in the range of Covid. It's just an inconvenient fact Trump was one of the first world leaders to shut down flights from China. Only bested by Italy. In fact, he actually made the decision the same day as Italy but it took a couple more days to implement due to our much larger travel industry. This was during a time the Democrats and media were calling Trump xenophobic and overreactionary for doing so.

[@hiomation]

This video shouldn't have been more than one minute long. "How did America bungle the plague? Bad leadership." *Roll credits.*

[@goat9295]

200,000 deaths at the time of the video's release. 1,140,000 deaths in total

[@dylanm1174]

Here after this got nominated for an Emmy!!

[@cc9615]

Same!

[@That1HotMF]

What is an emmy?

[@user-jo3go8fe3g]

Whoa really??

[@dvoyles7399]

Notsticking up for anyone The Us leader tryed to block the traveling from China and got called out at being racist so here we are today.It all planned people do not see that .

[@FLEABONE]

Someone should look at Idaho's response. I've had road blocks at every level when trying to understand my husband's death. He died on March 8th 2020 of acute respiratory distress after coming down with neurologic symptoms, fever, cough, and a persistent headache. I was told he didn't need a covid-19 test because it wasn't in our area yet. March 7th his Dr at the hospital said his imaging "looks somewhat like pneumonia". He died 12 hours later. The coroner canceled his autopsy and refused to test for covid-19. Now the hospital's patient relations is saying, as of September 10th, my husband didn't have respitory symptoms. I got push back from the health department, zero response from CDC and stonewalling from the coroner and the hospital.

[@MO-vr5bf]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Forgive me for asking what did they put as cause of death on his death certificate?

[@carmenponcedeleon2693]

Sorry for your loss. This is unbelievably horrible.

[@lazeroad]

White people!!!

[@StewNWT]

please keep contacting major media like the New York Times, as i suspect the only way your husband's death and the hsopital's incompetence will get the attention it deserves is through media pressure

[@aprilgraceortega7301]

Ask for an autopsy and test. It is your right.

[@testthisfordecficiencies]

Johnny is killing it!

[@edwardhardy3469]

This video needs to go viral, everybody in USA must see it! Please keep up this kind of reporting! Thanks to you guys, we might be more careful who we elect on both sides of the isle.

[@bigwilly528]

When George Bush comparatively looks like a genius.... well just “oof”

[@dmclegg66]

Yeah if he looks good oh boy!

[@bprclr01]

I take back every bad opinion I have of President George Bush. tRump really makes me regret how bad I felt having a president like GW.

[@NischhalPradhan23]

ooooffff

[@projectcountersign5791]

back when POTUS still read books

[@bananaempijama]

Bush reading a book is something astounding imo

[@JJonathansanderSS]

I'm here because of Johnny Harris' personal channel.

[@romarbetc123]

Same!

[@williamdavis1250]

G A Y - L I B

[@ren3362]

William Davis ??????? wha

[@lindasmith2240]

Good luck!!!!!

[@patrickleahy9534]

Hey congrats man! Ive watched and enjoyed and had to start researching more from your vids for awhile now. No idea how I missed this one but I do like and subscribe. Oh yeah and in this vid I learned that it was my preferred pres. Bush who started the pamdemic plan. Thats kind of wild given where y'all are. Congarts again man, im hoping to give up shampoo and conditioner whenever I next get a haircut

[@PonzooonTheGreat]

Loving these videos. A great example of show-don't-tell journalism.

[@hardy95852]

Vox messed up letting Johnny H go

[@themandikat]

Big time.

[@TheLiamster]

Did he leave Vox? I never knew about this.

[@Seskoi]

I thought he left by himself? Also, it's normal that Vox isn't able to continue its borders series for now...

[@themandikat]

@@Seskoi Johnny addressed it in a statement on his personal channel. He is grateful to Vox for the opportunities they gave him. (and you're right, borders would be very tough right now!) Definitely worth watching his video if you have the time for it. It sounds like it was complicated but amiable.

[@drylvlnc]

borders was cancelled

[@waflletoast11]

Who's here from the Johnny harris channel😎😎

[@jonathantowes2787]

Waffle - Johnny be making moves

[@bo_mieke]

ME!!!!🙌🙌

[@mr.rubycarnation8325]

Me

[@gingerelvira6587]

Doctor Smith has a channel?

[@bo_mieke]

@@gingerelvira6587 no Johnny Harris😂

[@KangaJack-ns9gd]

It is unbelievable Covid was so politicalized in America. In Australia most of us chose to band together. 97% of us are double vaccinated. SO, many lost lives unnecessarily.

[@icemule]

No! People were forced to get that b.s shot in your dictatorship of a country.

[@jennifercuddy5663]

I think it might help tenants if they had some kind of tenant insurance to cover costs during crises like these. It could even be federalized like social security tax withholding but separate.

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." ― George Bernard Shaw

[@pdpgkeeper]

Nick Kristof’s collapsing bookshelf is making me nervous

[@slypear]

Every single time I refer back to this video - and his bookshelf - omg

[@cross2833]

I love his bookshelves! So laden with knowledge and information!

[@elana137]

You did an amazing job producing this video.

[@mauritiusdunfagel9473]

This is tragic and we are still not holding anyone accountable for it!

[@michaeladkins6]

Our leader at the time is being held accountable for a lot right now.

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” ― Daniel J. Boorstin

[@circularpath]

People wildly underestimate the danger of inconsistent / incorrect information in a time like these.

[@ingeborgpadgett7079]

Great reporting Thank You

[@Awesomes007]

If we had better leadership I may not still be suffering from years of devastating and crippling long Covid. I’ve lost everything.

[@MagDrag123]

"Give me freedom or give me death!" Well, they got both.

[@bamparan]

No, we didn't. Less than 6% of all Covid deaths were from Covid alone. Survival rate of over 99%. But it's okay, Stay Home, Stay Safe, Obey.

[@debasishchapeyar4826]

Mr. Chow : But did you die ????

[@dictatoribenevolo8394]

@@bamparan I guess u're on of those idiots that will vote for trump again?

[@Obscurai]

More Trump rallies to infect and cull Trumpsters please.

[@rynsoo4310]

BenzieBawks This is a misguided understanding of CDC data. Comorbidity is not the same as cause of death. Please ask your doctor.

[@Cheyenne-jh4hv]

This video just got nominated for an Emmy! Congrats Johnny Harris!!

[@piyushyadav9006]

Yes it does .... But disappointed that he had hidden so many facts in this video .. Like the exponential boom in cases in the month of June after the BLM protests and media completely ignoring Covid at that time and even saying that those protests are much more important than actually saving American lives.

[@Rohishimoto]

@@piyushyadav9006 Studies showed that the areas where the protests were held were not were COVID was surging. Mask use was observed to be high and it was almost all outdoors, lowering the likelihood of transmission. As for media coverage, well the media is always pretty trash.

[@bobinpune]

@@piyushyadav9006 Piyush ji, thoda bhakti kam kijiye aur aankhe khol ke dekhiye.

[@Hawijack]

@@piyushyadav9006 I surprised you are not blaming Hillary Clinton. Trumpnazis are dangerous and destroying America! Beware!

[@PostWarKids]

what cat was he in?

[@nfeliciano8601]

Fun fact: the CDC had an initiative to send 5 masks to every household in America via USPS. 5 white reusable masks packed and labeled with guidance and prepostmarked. Those masks never went out to households. They did go out to some essential businesses. My job still has some we use when we forget ours. It’s a weird feeling looking at the label and thinking about what could have been.

[@MFK1967]

The masks were basically useless against Covid

[@cowgirlsteph]

me: that pandemic hasn't been THAT traumatic for me... also me: almost starts crying watching this.

[@mim8312]

Germany, Taiwan, etc., all demonstrate how few Americans could have died, if America had a competent, honest, national leader like they have had.

[@primalpower177]

Look at india then.

[@primalpower177]

@rajini talaivar sure whatever you say.

[@primalpower177]

@rajini talaivar indea has one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. So why is income relevant I have no idea. Care to enlighten me?

[@Fengsuave_]

Primal Power it is literally a low income country, you have to be stupid to use India as a comparison

[@Fengsuave_]

Primal Power it’s not whatever you say, it’s true, I’m sorry you’re not able to understand something so simple😭👍

[@viniciusbueno293]

When you realize you're not a actually a fan of Vox, or the NYT, or anything. But that you are a fan of Johnny Harris

[@zxyatiywariii8]

Exactly. NYT and Vox are hit-or-miss, sometimes good, sometimes bad. But I do like Harris.

[@slim11shock]

Glad he is not with VOX. The VOX content is more and more baised.

[@element5999]

Boy, this sure aged well. How about a 2022 two-year follow-up using the same measurements NYT?

[@sizzla123]

Luke 8:17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.

[@RegularVeteran]

This is an incredible video. Our country needs to watch it. Like, the whole country!

[@Rakanishu2]

This video will not reach the feeds of the Qanon right-wing unless we share it to them directly. Just saying

[@indrek12345]

What about the fact that the media was misleading the people by saying that BLM protest are fine, but opening small businesses is not?

[@furfoxsake1175]

After some years have passed, this should be shown in history classes. I was never taught about past pandemics in high school, nor were most people I know. If we don't learn from history, we're doomed to repeat it...

[@jamesfletcher1689]

I'm from the UK we have been taught about the black death and the plauge we also learn about virus vaccines and how they work in school

[@martavillanueva1062]

The network of about 6 colleges that make up City Colleges of Chicago here in the United States pretty much made all the office workers still show up to work during the initial two week lockdown🤷. Yeah, one of them had Covid and died🙏. What would have added insult to injury would have been if they made the science/health instructors show up, too, being the group of people who teach the basics of the (viral) infection/contamination.

[@Gquain]

We can all watch then but it's not helping much if the people in charge are not acknowledging it

[@Ccc_b124]

Neither did my school except when we went through our books for social studies in fifth grade for one day but my teacher made it into a 3 month thing and then the day that we watched a videos on the viruses and pandemics and epidemics of the past we were given the first news that school was canceled for 2 weeks that day.

[@Ccc_b124]

@spirals 73 ikr in my elementary school we had 2 blocks and math and science were in one class and Ella and history are in one class but almost every day we would spend 2 hours or more on math/eat but we would only spend like 10 minutes on science and social studies.

[@seanh1077]

Sad to see you go down this road

[@adityaroy7616]

I find it very heart-breaking that in my own country, India, our Prime Minister took the difficult decision of completely shutting down the economy and successfully moved past the first wave, but, is called a failure because he got complacent thinking there will be no second wave. I think not being prepared for the second wave was unforgivable. But, the first wave was handled surprisingly well. Although, he had all the access to the science, our healthcare system was so poorly prepared from the beginning. It seems like sheer incompetence he hadn't expedited resource planning for our healthcare system. But, watching this makes me think that our country did many times better in the first wave. Our country has a population that is 3 times larger, but, has half the casualties is not a correct justification. I am looking at the approach now. With the third wave, our country is phasing into a 'mini-lockdown.' I hope people start getting a sense of how a small thing shapes into something lethal.

[@thabluntroller9637]

Oh yeah, America screwed up big time