Johns Hopkins study says lockdowns did more harm than good

[StarSong]

Here's an article about the study:
https://www.newsweek.com/did-johns-...ckdowns-dont-work-what-we-know-so-far-1676724

Thanks for that link. Looks like most of the scientific world is taking issue with this study's methodology and conclusions.
From the Newsweek article:

"The paper is yet to undergo peer-review and has not been shared or promoted by JHU, with the author noting in the document that "views expressed in each working paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that the authors are affiliated with."'

"Fortune magazine described the authors as "free marketers." It has yet to be peer-reviewed, and it has received criticism on several fronts from the scientific community."

 

[win231]

Thanks for that link. Looks like most of the scientific world is taking issue with this study's methodology and conclusions.
From the Newsweek article:

"The paper is yet to undergo peer-review and has not been shared or promoted by JHU, with the author noting in the document that "views expressed in each working paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that the authors are affiliated with."'

"Fortune magazine described the authors as "free marketers." It has yet to be peer-reviewed, and it has received criticism on several fronts from the scientific community."

It wouldn't surprise me that the study received criticism from the scientific community. That's where the foolish suggestions came from.

 

[SeniorBen]

Thanks for that link. Looks like most of the scientific world is taking issue with this study's methodology and conclusions.
From the Newsweek article:

"The paper is yet to undergo peer-review and has not been shared or promoted by JHU, with the author noting in the document that "views expressed in each working paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that the authors are affiliated with."'

"Fortune magazine described the authors as "free marketers." It has yet to be peer-reviewed, and it has received criticism on several fronts from the scientific community."

Yep, here is a little background on the authors...

Described as a Johns Hopkins study, the report was in reality published online by the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at Johns Hopkins University, an academic enterprise tightly linked to the libertarian Cato Institute think tank. The institute is separate from the famed medical institution and school of public health affiliated with the university. It is co-directed by one of the authors of the new report, economist Steve Hanke, who also directs the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute.

The other two authors of the report are Scandinavian economists Jonas Herby and Lars Jonung. Herby advises the Center for Political Studies, in Copenhagen, a self-described “independent, liberal, free-market think tank in Denmark” that strongly opposes coronavirus lockdown policies across the Nordic region and is generally anti-regulation. He is also tied to the American Institute for Economic Research, where he has written in favor of the Swedish government’s very loose pandemic policies in 2020 that resulted, by the end of the summer of that year, in death rates more than five times higher than in neighboring Denmark, over 9 times greater than in Finland, and more than 11 times worse than the toll in Norway. Herby wrote that Sweden’s huge mortality was due to a mild flu season in the country in 2019, which left too many “dry tinder” vulnerable people, particularly the elderly, who “burned up” with coronavirus infections.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/08/economists-are-fueling-the-war-against-public-health/

 

[StarSong]

Herby wrote that Sweden’s huge mortality was due to a mild flu season in the country in 2019, which left too many “dry tinder” vulnerable people, particularly the elderly, who “burned up” with coronavirus infections.

No doubt the loved ones of those "dry tinder" folks take issue with Herby's perspective. His underlying message seems to be that they were overstaying their earthly welcome.

 

[Sunny]

Hey, Win, you may have not noticed, because you're so busy trolling this forum, but things ARE very much closer to normal than they were even a few months ago. My building has a bulletin board in the lobby with events, notices, etc. posted on it. For the last 2 years, it's been practically empty, except to keep warning people to wear masks, wash their hands, etc.

Today I walked past it and saw a happy group of people reading all the notices. I don't remember all the events being planned, but some were a movie (tonight), a performance of Pippin in a local theater, a book club meeting, a singles group game night, a box for donations of clothing for newborns in our neighborhood, a fellow running for county executive giving a talk about goods that are manufactured in the area, and a schedule of an exercise group. Happy Hour (BYOB) every two weeks has returned, also the Koffee Klatch every two weeks in the morning. And there were lots more; as I said, too many to remember.

None of these events require masks. Some people wear them anyway. (I usually don't.)

Our own theater group is resuming live performances, and I will be accompanying some of the singers, as I play the piano. Really looking forward to that!

Just take the blinders off your eyes and look around you... and enjoy the relative normality we've returned to. Not perfect yet, but thanks to vaccines, masks, and social distancing, life is now a whole lot better. And we are alive.