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Two new reports on the US governmental response to COVID in 2020-2021 call into question the public health efficacy of some measures and make a strong case that some of the measures marketed as ways to keep us safe were counterproductive, if not outright harmful. The Hoover Institute looks at the effect COVID policies had on public education, while the Committee to Unleash Prosperity report gives an overview of all policies.
The Hoover Institute study is synopsized in New Report Details Horrifying Cost of Fauci’s Failures. Its basic theme is that COVID policies in education have yet to be felt or appreciated and will ripple through the world economy for years.
“Based on the available research on lifetime earnings associated with more skills, the average student in school during the pandemic will lose 5 to 6 percent of lifetime earnings,” they found. “Because a lower-skilled workforce leads to lower economic growth, the nation will lose some $31 trillion (in present value terms) during the twenty-first century. This aggregate economic loss is higher than the US GDP for one year and dwarfs the total economic losses from either the slowdown of the economy during the pandemic or from the 2008 recession.” //
But Florida was one of the few states, and perhaps the only large one, to make reopening schools a priority, despite the objections of teachers unions and media outlets that attempted to label the governor as “DeathSantis.”
And it’s going to pay off, relatively speaking. A figure presented in the research shows that Florida’s economic state loss in GDP is nearly equal to Pennsylvania, despite a population that’s nearly 75% bigger than Pennsylvania. And California’s estimated losses, roughly $1.3 trillion, are more than 116% higher than Florida, much larger than the population difference. Similarly, New York’s economic losses far exceed Florida’s, despite a smaller population. //
Lesson #1: Leaders Should Calm Public Fears, Not Stoke Them //
In my view, this observation is only valid if you assume the leadership during COVID cared about mitigating the panic. Rather, it seems that Fauci, Birx, and others deliberately ratcheted up panic for reasons that one can only speculate about.
Lesson #2: Lockdowns Do Not Work to Substantially Reduce Deaths or Stop Viral Circulation //
Lesson #3: Lockdowns and Social Isolation Had Negative Consequences that Far Outweighed Benefits //
In my view, this section misses the point because it takes at face value claims that lockdowns were instituted for public health rather than societal control reasons. //
the real purpose was to socially isolate families and fragment communities.
Lesson #4: Government Should Not Pay People More Not to Work //
Lesson #5: Shutting Down Schools Was a Major Policy Mistake With Tragic Effects on Children, Especially the Poor //
Lesson #6: Masks Were of Little or No Value and Possibly Harmful //
Lesson #7: Government Should Not Suppress Dissent or Police the Boundaries of Science
...This underutilization was likely a significant contributor to non-COVID excess deaths in the United States. //
Lesson #9: Protect the Most Vulnerable //
Lesson #10: Warp Speed: Deregulate But Don’t Mandate //
Conclusion: Limit Government Emergency Powers and Earn Back Public Trust
One result of the government’s error-ridden COVID response was that the Americans have justifiably lost faith in public health institutions. Lockdowns, school closures, and mandates were catastrophic errors, pushed with remarkable fervor by public health authorities at all levels. We recommend that Congress and the states define by law “public health emergency” with strict limitations on powers conferred to the executives and time limits that require legislation to extend. Additionally, term limits should be established for all senior health agency positions. Grantmaking should be independent of policy-making and public communication, and NIH funding itself should be decentralized or block-granted to the states. Congress should require full transparency of all Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CDC, and NIH discussions with immediate posting to public forums. //
It should be definitively restated that CDC guidance is strictly advisory and the CDC does not have power to set laws or mandates. The U.S. should halt all binding agreements with the World Health Organization until satisfactory transparency and accountability is achieved. Unless and until key institutions openly acknowledge that lockdowns, school closures, and mask/vaccine mandates were catastrophic errors that will not be repeated in the future, the American people will – and should – withhold their trust.