1. Texas now has more Covid deaths than California does, even though California's population is 33% bigger.

So Texas's per capita death rate from Covid is 40% higher than California's.

2. The numbers look even worse when you look at excess deaths - Texas has 19,696 excess deaths since Feb. 1, while California has 15,829.

That means Texas' excess deaths per capita are 70% higher than California's since the pandemic started.

3. This isn't because of demographics - a slightly higher percentage of *California's* population is over 65. It's because the two states have taken dramatically different approaches toward fighting the virus.

4. And for those who say California's strict lockdown has itself killed people, California actually has slightly fewer excess deaths than Covid deaths since February.

It's Texas, which locked down only haltingly, that has many more excess deaths than confirmed Covid deaths.

5. It's reasonable to critique California for some of what it's done - in particular, the fact that schools are still closed in parts of the state with very low positive-test rates is silly. But that what it's done has also helped save lives is undeniable.