If you use deaths/m, which is definitely not perfect but much more accurate than cases/m, the two geographies are remarkably similar. The "US is uniquely terrible" narrative is solipsistic and relies on averaging together some very effective and very ineffective others. https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1276113155010289664

Switching to linear & adding UK , which is worse than either EU or US, and Brazil, where a major outbreak started slowly but - so far - has a lower peak than the others. (Reporting accuracy is variable; all cause mortality data will eventually be closest to the truth).

My point is *not* that the U.S. response has been good or sufficient (though my own state, Maryland, has been admirable). It's that the U.S. response is not very unique. We're in the middle of the distribution of outcomes for developed countries, a little worse than average.