COVID Update: DeSantis Did It Right 

The most comprehensive comparative study of the effects of COVID regulations was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) earlier this month. One of the conclusions: Governor DeSantis did it right.

The researchers compared COVID outcomes in 50 states based on three variables: the economy, education, and mortality. The top 10 states were Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana, South Dakota, Florida, New Hampshire, Maine, Arkansas, and Idaho. The bottom 10 were New Jersey, DC, New York, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

Most of the top 10 are states with low population density. The one exception is Florida. In terms of mortality, Florida was in the middle of the pack, ranking 28th, whereas California, which had much tougher lockdowns (and thus more deleterious effects on the economy and education) ranked 27th. California ranked 47th overall because its shutdowns crushed the economy (40th) and in-person schooling (50th).

The bottom 10 are dominated by states that had the most stringent lockdowns and were among the last to open up schools. New York, which was early praised for former Governor Cuomo’s severe lockdown policies, ranked 49th, with New Jersey coming in last.

“The correlation between health and economy scores is essentially zero,” said the authors of the study, “which suggests that states that withdrew the most from economic activity did not significantly improve health by doing so.”