Unlockdowns - The Costs and Benefits

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Many researchers have pushed back against the idea that a more targeted approach was ever possible. Kleemec says roughly one third of the population in wealthy nations was vulnerable because of underlying health conditions, so targeted measures would have been difficult to implement. Another targeted option for governments considering how to reopen societies might have been to keep only high risk locations closed.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries introduced strict lockdowns to help prevent spread of the disease. Since then, researchers have been studying the effects of these measures to help inform responses to future crises.

Conclusions suggest that countries that acted swiftly to bring in strict measures did best at preserving lives and their economies, but analysing the competing costs and benefits of lockdowns has been tough, as this work often comes down not to scientific calculations, but value judgements.

This is an audio version of our Feature: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns

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