How many lives have been saved by mask wearing? How much has been spent on the purchase of masks? Could that expenditure have been more effective in saving lives by being spent elsewhere? That's a question that occurs to me when I see so many masks littering the streets. 'Tis a minor point compared the points you raise but worth seeking an answer to.
Hi, agree with the above but there's a major omission. Your quick analysis assumes that a lockdown "saves" someone from Covid and goes on saving them, so they get their remaining life expectancy. If instead (as I understand) lockdown has only ultra-short-term benefit, then you either have to assume the costs of lockdown (to secure 7.5 years life) last 7.5 years;. Or assume the benefit of lockdown is only (say) a year, you delay Covid death by a short time but then the risk of death is still there.
Your analysis is correct if a new treatment arrives in the time granted by lockdown. So perhaps looking back you have a point as we now have the vaccine. But looking forward (which is really the point) ... We already have the vaccine. So hard to see what significant future gains are possible.
How many lives have been saved by mask wearing? How much has been spent on the purchase of masks? Could that expenditure have been more effective in saving lives by being spent elsewhere? That's a question that occurs to me when I see so many masks littering the streets. 'Tis a minor point compared the points you raise but worth seeking an answer to.
Hi, agree with the above but there's a major omission. Your quick analysis assumes that a lockdown "saves" someone from Covid and goes on saving them, so they get their remaining life expectancy. If instead (as I understand) lockdown has only ultra-short-term benefit, then you either have to assume the costs of lockdown (to secure 7.5 years life) last 7.5 years;. Or assume the benefit of lockdown is only (say) a year, you delay Covid death by a short time but then the risk of death is still there.
Your analysis is correct if a new treatment arrives in the time granted by lockdown. So perhaps looking back you have a point as we now have the vaccine. But looking forward (which is really the point) ... We already have the vaccine. So hard to see what significant future gains are possible.