What state fared best during the COVID epidemic?
Politico (by no means a conservative site) crunched the numbers for health outcomes, the state’s economy, social well-being, and education and found that the winner is NEBRASKA.
This, even though Nebraska, led by Republican governor Pete Ricketts, did not impose mask mandates, never ordered a state-wide shut down, did not forbid going to church, kept the schools meeting, opposed vaccine mandates, and has a mediocre vaccine rate.
See Kathy Gilsinan’s Inside Nebraska’s Surprisingly Effective Covid Strategy with the deck, “Nebraska’s obsession with government efficiency gave it an advantage when the virus struck.”
Yes, Nebraska has a sparse, spread-out population, but so do a lot of other states that did not do nearly as well. Nebraska came through COVID with a health score of 56 out of 100 (the American average was 49); an economy score of 90 out of 100 (the American average was 52); and an education score of 95 out of 100 (the American average was 50).
Those last numbers–based on math and reading scores, plus enrollment figures–mean that Nebraska children experienced “little or no learning loss,” unlike the rest of the country.
Not that the epidemic wasn’t hard on Nebraskans. The state had a lower than average score on Social Well-being (49 out of 100, compared to the national average of 57), based on statistics for food insecurity, difficulty in meeting household expenses, and crime. And over 4,000 Nebraskans died, for a rate of 160.4 per 100,000. That category comes to a score of 80 out of 100. But this, more updated site with different numbers, still puts Nebraska as the #12 state in terms of the fewest deaths per 100,000.
So what was Nebraska’s secret?
The state focused on its most-at-risk populations, such as nursing homes (also prisons), establishing infection-prevention protocols much earlier than other states. It quickly and efficiently secured medical supplies. It organized its hospitals, so that emergency rooms and patient facilities were not overwhelmed. It effectively managed federal aid to small businesses. It marshaled its resources and expertise, without imposing undue burdens on its citizens.
Read the article for the details.
Basically, Nebraska’s state government did what governments are supposed to do, staying within its lane and functioning with efficiency and good management. As opposed to over-reaching and bullying its citizens, while acting with incompetence and arrogance.
So, let us salute Nebraska. And let us also salute Nebraska again for having the best tourism motto of all: “Nebraska: It’s Not for Everybody.”
Maybe not, but such honesty makes for good government. And I think everybody can learn from Nebraska.
Illustration: By TUBS – This SVG locator map includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this locator map:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15948959
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