Covid-19 is overwhelming Italy's medical system — it does not have the capacity to treat so many patients.

People who have other medical problems may die because the medical personnel have no time to treat everyone.

This demonstrates the error of prioritizing efficient operation in normal time by tuning medical capacity to the normal level of demand. A system such as the British NHS, which is operating over capacity even in normal times due to Tory budget cuts, is starting from a position of being overwhelmed.

*In opposing Medicaid expansion, Koch-funded organizations have increased the likelihood of the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.*

Why is the US unprepared to deal with Covid-19? The same underlying reason that it is unprepared to deal with global heating: the 40-year plutocratist war on science, and its political reach.