Loads to read. Yellow fever, Hong Kong flu. The former, largely asymptomatic but deadly in some cases, saw towns locked down at the drop of a hat, heavily enforced.
The latter, symptomatic in nearly every case, about as deadly per case as Omicron appears (despite the vaccines and modern treatments), was not dealt with. Hospitals overflowed and people needing urgent life saving surgeries were sent home to die.
Under lockdown however, we've built up a massive backlog of cases, and there will be negative consequences for some patients.
Neither a repeat of the mistakes of lockdown - or a completely laisse faire approach, appear to be the best answer we can come up with.
And I still think we're likely to need something. Vaccines don't quite solve this problem. Close, but not quite. They are not without their problems. And it hardly seems reasonable to call restrictions like no indoor service authoritarian, whilst advocating to punish people who decline vaccination.
Maintaining an honest approach is usually the best option. I have to think that ship sailed a long time ago. Blinded by numbers. Used politically. 'Accidentally' misinformed of case numbers regarding Omicron. People will have a huge problem accurately judging what is going on.
