I do not begrudge them advising me to wipe down shopping carts, or put my mail in the sun for an hour, or wear a mask. Those bits of advice were the best they had at the time. Today, they wouldn't bother with the wipe-down or leaving the mail out in the sun. Four years (and a lot of learning) later. Anyone that claimed they knew better at the time is full of it. They didn't know. They couldn't have known. Nobody knew.

It wasn't unknown knowledge that
*UV rays kill bateria and viruses
*Wiping down surfaces with disinfectant kills 99% of viruses (Don't think there is a virus yet that can get past even Lysol, which is diluted ammonimum)
*Masks have particulate ratings

That last point is the big one. Masks have specification ratings and guidelines on how to use them. There was/is nothing more comical than watching some doof with a full beard wear his mask outside in the sun smugly thinking he's protected from anything. Masks are great for stopping you from sneezing all over someone else; they are not and never have been the panacea of disease protection.

All this was known before Covid.

As far as location, take a look at the latitude of most of the states with the worst COVID. What's the average temperature there compared to northern states? Do you think that might have had something to do with it? Might that explain why deep-blue New Mexico has similar rates as neighboring Arizona?

COVID wasn't partisan. The response was, as was the damage done due to misguided policies.

In 20 years you're going to wonder why so many blue state kids are lagging behind their cohorts in red states.