As to the first point

You're right.

As to the second ... that's the complicated bit surely. Coronavirus = lives, yes, but then so does lockdown - in lost diagnoses and treatments of other illnesses, in poverty caused economic collapse, in future inability to fund things, including health care, etc etc. So I don't think the question is callous - it's central. What's more it happens already ... the basic approach pre corona was £30k per good quality year of life - ie an operation costing £40k but giving 6 months life would not be justified. The same applies eg to the cost of traffic calming/safety measures - cost per life is calculated and weighed. On that approach, the economic cost of lockdown is much greater per life than we would previously have accepted. There are reasons for that - and we can debate the appropiate figure - but how elese could it be approached?

Posted By: paulg, Apr 7, 09:08:06