Nice NY Times opinion piece on Laurie Garrett, who wrote extensively about the lack of preparation in the world for pandemic for years, and now gives her opinion on what she expects the next few years to be like.
Good read -- she lambasts the poor response to the virus, especially in the USA, and talks about how the USA is abdicating its international leadership role on this issue. She also mentions the income/lifestyle inequities that she believes will worsen in the next few years and lead to more interclass conflict.
One paragraph from the article also articulates a key point whose drum I have been beating on lately: that while testing is important -- we are not going to "test" our way out of this crisis -- i.e. test so universally that we can make sure no infected person is out in society to infect other people -- but that we need well thought-out, empirically-driven, targeted mitigation and social distancing strategies (that are sustainable and less restrictive than lockdowns):
"And what America needs most right now, she said, isn’t this drumbeat of testing, testing, testing, because there will never be enough superfast, super-reliable tests to determine on the spot who can safely enter a crowded workplace or venue, which is the scenario that some people seem to have in mind. America needs good information, from many rigorously designed studies, about the prevalence and deadliness of coronavirus infections in given subsets of people, so that governors and mayors can develop rules for social distancing and reopening that are sensible, sustainable and tailored to the situation at hand."
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