A Disparity in COVID Numbers: Simulation of Trump v. Obama

Abstract

Previous studies of excess deaths and infections have come out about the coronavirus during President Donald J. Trump’s administration. With President Trump’s inactions, funding cuts, and statements underestimating the impact of COVID, there have been criticisms about how President Trump handled the coronavirus throughout his presidential term. It brings about the question -- What would the case number of COVID deaths and infections be like if President Barack H. Obama, the prior president, was in office? This study uses an open source Python simulation in order to estimate the number of COVID deaths and infections estimated under Trump and Obama’s administration. By doing a case study between the two, these results provide information regarding the number of lives that could potentially have been saved along with potential insight into finding preventative measures to save lives.