So far, Sweden has had 1,580 reported
coronavirus deaths, which is 154 deaths per million population.
The United States has had 40,565 reported
coronavirus deaths, or 124 deaths per million population. Both percentages are
minuscule.
Sweden’s death rate is higher, but Sweden has
kept its economy open.
The U.S. did not. Emotionally and
economically, the U.S. lockdowns have been catastrophic. After this is over, I
expect to learn that the U.S. lockdowns will have caused more deaths than they’ve
saved. Certainly a great deal more worry and unhappiness,
The government couldn’t have just given
advice on television but otherwise let people decide for themselves whether
they were vulnerable to the virus. Those who deemed themselves healthy could
have worked, mingled, and become immune. Oh no, you can’t trust just plain
people to make such decisions, right?
Knut Wittkowski,
PhD,
has been an epidemiological modeler for 35 years. He heads the Department of Biostatistics,
Epidemiology, and Research Design at New York’s Rockefeller University.
In
an article of the American Institute of Economic Research, Wittkowski said the only
thing that stops all respiratory diseases is herd immunity. About 80 percent of
the people need to have contact with the virus. The majority won’t even know
they were infected, or they’ll have mild symptoms.
Elderly
people should be separated and nursing homes closed. But schools should be kept
open, he said, with kids mingling to obtain immunity. After about four weeks, they
could safely meet with older people, and social distancing could end.
