Originally Posted by
Zapp_Brannigan
Economy before lives. You guys must be Americans.
As long as it doesn't happen to you, you don't care.
The governments obviously took the right decision to lockdown, at the time, in order not to overfill the medical services.
The death rate was kept low BECAUSE the hospitals were running at or under full capacity.
The mortality displacement so far is 23% in the USA and 50% in the UK!
That's probably the real toll on lives. Not the official numbers issued by the governements.
Wrt your first statement, how ridiculous! As if all Americans are the same. Clearly there are differing views in America right now, or have you not been watching the news.
Secondly, the economy is directly linked to lives, and health, and wealth. If you’re too stupid to recognize that, just stop reading.
Lastly, your comment about mortality displacement is relevant. That does matter, especially over time. What’s the mortality displacement over the next 1,3, and 5 years? Think the economy might have something to do with that? I certainly do.
Sadly, epidemiology is more utilitarian than rights fundamentalism, more triage than specialized care. In this case, I think most developed countries epidemiologists have overshot precisely because they don’t understand the economy. Maybe that can be changed going forward in the future.