From here:
...over the last few weeks, as vaccination has become a top priority, the pattern has changed. Progressive leaders in much of the world are now struggling to distribute coronavirus vaccines quickly and efficiently:
Europe’s vaccination rollout “has descended into chaos,” as Sylvie Kauffmann of Le Monde, the French newspaper, has written. One of the worst performers is the Netherlands, which has given a shot to less than 2 percent of residents.
Canada (at less than 3 percent) is far behind the U.S. (about 8.4 percent).
Within the U.S., many Democratic states — like California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and tiny Rhode Island — are below the national average. “The parts of the country that pride themselves on taking Covid seriously and believing in government are not covering themselves in glory,” The Times’s Ezra Klein has written.
At the same time, there are clear success stories in places that few people would describe as progressive.
Alaska and West Virginia have the two highest vaccination rates among U.S. states, with Oklahoma and the Dakotas also above average. Globally, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have the highest rates. Britain — run by Boris Johnson, a populist Conservative — has vaccinated more than 15 percent of residents.
Glenn Reynolds comments on the above:
Well, historically the left is better at confiscating things and issuing orders. The right is better at getting good things in the hands of the people. “A common problem seems to be a focus on process rather than on getting shots into arms. Some progressive leaders are effectively sacrificing efficiency for what they consider to be equity. . . . Some blue states have also created intricate rules about who qualifies for a vaccine and then made a big effort to keep anybody else from getting a shot.”
Last week, I had the chance to Skype with my buddy Mike, who mentioned the above problem. My mind immediately went into "red state versus blue state" mode. Mike's point was that Virginia—which is now and has long been a blue state—is doing a poor job of distributing the vaccine whereas neighboring West Virginia—a red state—has been top-flight about it, simply allowing the market to do the work by making the vaccine available through venues like CVS (for you non-Americans reading this, CVS is a drug/convenience chain store).
Will the left learn anything from this? Of course not.
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