Scheduled transport aviation (e.g. US Part 121 carriage) is incredibly safe. One major reason is that it gathers evidence, learns from it how to make things safer, then takes those actions. Another major reason is a safety culture that values admitting mistakes and near misses so that others can learn from it. Another major reason is regulation that enforces applying safety lessons even when it drives up costs.
Contrast this with how the US administration has been responding to the COVID-19 epidemic.
@Larry S, you ask, ‘Blaming “national leadership and political will” is much akin to blaming the mythical “they.” What the heck are you talking about here? Get specific … just WHO are you talking about and just WHAT would you have them do (or have done earlier)’?
Here’s one specific action. Around May 2018, John Bolton, National Security Advisor appointed by Donald Trump, pushed out Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer and eliminated the global health security team he oversaw. That left the White House without anyone focused solely on global health security. That team was not rebuilt. “Health security is very fragmented, with many different agencies,” said J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It means coordination and direction from the White House is terribly important. ” (Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/) Bolton and Trump and the administration a) could have not broken up that capability, and b) could have rebuilt it.
There are plenty of other examples — but this is an aviation blog.