In just the first two days of December, an estimated 5,495 people died of the coronavirus in the capitalist United States.
That’s 690 more deaths than the total number of people who have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in the following socialist countries: People’s Republic of China (4,634 deaths); Socialist Republic of Vietnam (35 deaths); and the Republic of Cuba (136 deaths).
The population of these three socialist countries is an estimated 1.548 billion people or almost five times the population of the United States. Yet they’ve suffered less than 2 percent of the estimated 274,762 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S as of Dec. 3.
On a per capita basis, the difference in the death rate between the capitalist U.S. and the rates in these three socialist countries is 267 times. Why is that so?
One reason is that socialist countries don’t close hospitals because they’re losing money. Under socialism, medical care is for people not for profit.
Just in New York City, both St. John’s Hospital in Queens and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village were recently closed and turned into luxury housing. The Jersey City Medical Center with a thousand beds was converted over 20 years ago.
Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia with 400 beds was also shut down and is now being turned into luxury apartments. These beds are desperately needed now.
The coming months may see even higher numbers of COVID deaths in the United States. Black, Indigenous and Latinx people are at least twice as likely to die.
This ongoing tragedy didn’t have to happen. It’s how capitalism functions. COVID-19 is another reason we need a socialist revolution.
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