I don't believe there is a way we could have "stopped" it.
New Zealand was able to do so with a complete shutdown, but they have rough the same population as Alabama and these are much easier to implement on a smaller scale. Plus, they are a much more progressive/liberal country as a whole and the populous is more willing to go along with a complete shutdown.
Ultimately the politicization of every piece of data and making every discussion a giant pissing match has really hindered our response. For better or worse, a decisive and immediate response is what was needed, and we got anything but.