A Real Ranking

By Tao Xing

America Ranked First！ In June， when Bloomberg changed the metrics of its COVID Resilience Ranking to “accommodate the shift in COVID-19 management，” this was done to lift the U.S. from Mays 13th place to the top spot in the index， a system in place since last November and updated monthly.

America Ranked First？ Wang Wen， Executive Dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China， said the obsession with being “No.1” goes against facts and human ethics.

As of August 12， the U.S. reported more than 36 million cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19， including more than 610，000 deaths， according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In terms of both numbers， the U.S. ranks first in the world.

On July 30， the number of COVID-19 cases in a single day in the U.S. exceeded 100，000， a first since February 6， when the number of new daily cases first crossed the benchmark.

Previously， when writing to Robert Redfield， then Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention， on September 23， 2020， William Foege， former director of the organization， criticized the U.S. administrations response to the virus， and said， “Dont shy away from the fact this has taken an unacceptable toll on our country. It is a slaughter and not just a political dispute.”

These truths， and what American titans said， have been recorded in a research report entitled America Ranked First？！ The Truth About Americas Fight Against COVID-19. The exposéwas made public on August 9 by three Beijingbased think tanks.

Wang said at the report release conference that such American medias rankings are unhelpful for mankind to keep a true perspective of world history in the future. “We made the report to protect the truth for the next generations and provide references and experiences in fighting the virus.”

Why the U.S. failed

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2018 showed the U.S. spent more on healthcare than any other country in the world—as a percentage of GDP.

With such a high proportion of health expenditures， the U.S. should have been the worlds best equipped nation in the fight against COVID-19. However， the U.S. Governments efforts in pandemic prevention and control， policy measures and virus source investigation ran contrary to science and common sense. These are the direct underlying reasons for the U.S. being a “failed country in terms of fighting the pandemic，” the report said.