On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 4:28 PM Udhay Shankar N <[email protected]> wrote:
> > I assume you mean that it is not a good thing to actively work towards. > This also presumes that teh authorities can affect this outcome one way or > another. > Well, the idea is to delay and mitigate till a vaccine is ready, while treatment protocols that will lower mortality also evolve at the same time. The lockdown is a blunt tool, and needs to be combined with testing-and-tracing etc. India's limited state capacity makes it that much harder, and there are costs no matter what you do. We'll never know what the optimal approach was even in hindsight, because you cannot calculate the costs of any counterfactual. But just letting the virus run amuck and letting herd immunity do its thing is surely the worst option. Also, it is impossible in India, except for privileged elites like us, to separate the vulnerable from the non-vulnerable. So many poor in congested cities, more co-morbidities than other nations, and a horrendous healthcare system -- there would have been carnage. (There still might be carnage down the road.) > > Udhay > -- Amit Varma Writer and Columnist Podcast -- The Seen and the Unseen <http://www.seenunseen.in/> Blog -- India Uncut <http://www.indiauncut.com> Twitter -- @amitvarma <http://www.twitter.com/amitvarma>
