How Did Southeast Asia Move to the Top of the Coronavirus Death List?

 

Southeast Asia had for over a year maintained very good control of the novel coronavirus.  Southeast Asia had watched as the virus moved from its origins to countries in Europe and all over the world, devastating everything and everyone in its path.  Despite lockdowns and precautions taken worldwide, COVID has claimed millions of patient lives.  These patient deaths were highest in the United States and Brazil.  India then became the next area plagued by this juggernaut.  As the cases in India have continued to rise and persist with large daily death totals and large number of newly acquired infections, the spillover into the rest of Southeast Asia is real.  Over a year after the original lockdown measures were instituted these same countries find themselves back at square one.  Obviously, lack of population vaccination programs are playing a large role in this evolution.  The United States was not spared from the huge number of patient deaths despite wealth and its very modern healthcare system.  Ultimately, the United States was seemingly saved by an extremely rapid vaccination development program and then a massive vaccination program.  This may be the only thing to save everyone else.  The futures of all are tied together as the evolution of the virus in large populations may result in variants that can overcome defenses and vaccines in a more efficacious manner.  Thus, it is imperative to quash the coronavirus once and for all.