"This time last year, we were 12th. It was an absolute disgrace."
But we didn't move from 12th to 21st for any political reason, just that the at risk folks died off last year. No, I can't cite you any stats or studies, but I'd wager that we had a higher PER CAPITA set of elderly, obese, smokers, with hypertension than most countries. Once those specimens died off the rest of us were surviving more readily.
Plus, thanks to operation warp speed, we had a vaccine that, if you believe the propaganda, won't prevent you from contracting the "virus" but will make it more likely for you to survive it.
JRBJR NMP