[bingohbangoh]

I know many nurses and doctors who work at hospitals in and around the NYC tristate area -- they all say capacity is well under the normal rates for them.

Note: last April (2020), they said it had exploded due to COVID-19.

[cogman10]

Yeah, the main difference appears to be states that have high vaccine participation and states that don't.

[sreque]

This is just your bias showing, nothing more. COVID has been shown to be seasonal and to hit different parts of the world at different times of the year. Southern states appear to get hardest hit in the summer, while the colder Northern states are harder-hit in the winter.

Florida has the second-oldest population in the U.S., but it's death rate per 100,000 is average among the states. NYC and NJ are two states with the highest death rate per 100,000.

[bingohbangoh]

So what is there to say about Israel or Gibraltar?

Both have very high hospitalization rates. Both also have very high vaccination rates.

[cogman10]

IDK, hard to say what's going on there.

In the worst case, it may just been that the vaccine effectiveness wanes over time.