randave2001 Loc: Richmond

Please explain what 'CBD' stands for. Thanks.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

If people don’t follow the rules in a lockdown, the lockdown doesn’t work. People do not follow the rules.

steve Loc: Iowa

I agree Ken. I had covid twice & barley any effects.

JBRIII

Agree.

Another possible problem is how long one really needs to isolate to be sure you are virus free. According to some late studies even 10 days may leave some still able to infect others. If so, places like China may have to stay closed forever even after being completely virus free for a time, no visitors, etc. unless your are going to spend a month in a special hotel.

Recently, that Island near the big volcano got aid, no one left the ships, no personal contact, now a virus outbreak.

Another island allowed citizens back for first time in two years, keep in special hotel in another country for two weeks, multiple PCR tests, then allowed home, again separation and testing and again an outbreak. There no sure things with dieases, you just do your best to slow it down and save as many as possible, which officials here have said from the getgo.

Decades ago N. Zealand try similar measures to bring new sheep into the country, they do not have scrapies and don't want it. They spent 10 years or more moving sheep closer to the main Island from off shore, isolated locations. Just before the final stage, I think the last year of isolation, it showed up in the sheep.

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

The authors of the study pointed out that although their analysis showed that lockdowns and mandates did not work, they were not saying that behaviors such as masking, hand-washing, social distancing, etc. did not work.

My take is that they felt that such behaviors should be encouraged, but without locking down the entire community.

Because lockdowns "have had devastating effects. They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy. These costs to society must be compared to the benefits of lockdowns, which our meta-analysis has shown are marginal at best. Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument."

Nancysc

Mortality usually means death.

Larelain Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

The 1957 pandemic lockdowns were considered and rejected. Some consider it as deadly as the covid-19. I would encourage you to research on that it is very interesting

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I question why a cost-benefit analysis always has to be done on an economic basis that attaches little or no value to human life itself.

JBRIII

That's because today it seems only a few lives matter to many, theirs and their family!

Another way, nicer to say, but perhaps even worse overall, is all too many of us no longer believe anything any official, or maybe anyone else, has to say on anything that matters, unless it agrees with what we already think. Whether it is politicians lying about why we went to war, etc. or deceptive advertizing, etc., being told deficits matter, but doing nothing, etc., I believe it slowly causes disbelief. Covid is bad, but there may come a time when such disbelief is literally means the end of us all or at least the end of the US as it is today. Before you call me a fatalist, ask yourself how sure you are the US won't end up as a right or left wing dictatorship in the next 10-20 yrs.

mikee

Wonder if the reason for the lockdowns not working was the politics of them. I know a lot of people felt they were unnecessary, so they didn’t stay home, didn’t stop getting together with friends, etc. Remember, some even held "covid parties". How can something work with that part of society?

randave2001 Loc: Richmond

Just looked it up. For those, like me, that did not know, CBD in Australia means 'Central Business District' which I believe would translate to downtown area here in the USA.

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

Because "reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy" which the authors called "costs to society" have indirectly resulted in significant increases in suicides, drug use, drug overdoses, non-Covid deaths due both to delays in medical treatment and delays in diagnostic testing, increases in spousal abuse, delayed psychological development in children, delayed speech development in children, negative impact on mental health in certain vulnerable populations, and other unintended consequences.

It's not purely economic. It's many factors which have an impact on the quality of human life.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I believe that we are headed for a dictatorship. The ancient ones pretty well recognized in the Old Testament that a dictatorship was how their society operated with an absolute leader - God - at the top. The concept was easy to understand by the masses. Follow the rules and you were ok. This experiment we are in with democracy is just too damn hard to understand, too hard to implement. Too many decision makers.

JBRIII

I am not going to go on forever with this, but I truly believe times have changed and our methods of education have not or at least not enough. In the past people did not have nearly as much information to consider and many decisions were made and enforced by troops if need be. Education is still too centered on dates, people, etc. and not themes, cause and effect, etc. People need to learn to reason and have knowledge to do that, logic, the scientific method, etc. Knowledge of how A affects B, economics and basic statistics are needed. This is not easy, but can be done. As my simple example, ask anyone if they think they are better than average: answer yes, a mathematical impossibility. Even if a pill raised everyones IQ by 60 pts, most people would still be average or below, just that average would be what is now brilliant.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I would modify it to "The number one precursor of death is life. 100% of things that die were alive first."