The Critic
First: who has the disease killed? Covid-19 targets the old and the
sick; this is not to be callous, but to understand the enemy and to
provide context. The average age of those dying of covid-19 in the UK
is over 80, and fully a third are residents of care homes where average
“stay” (a euphemism I’m afraid) was only 30 months from admission before
the virus anyway. ......
Second: who hasn’t it killed? Parents, unions and nervy adults fret
about the risk, but there is little need. With no serious pre-existing
conditions, the young-ish and healthy are far more likely to be hit by
lightning (49 occurrences per annum in UK) than to die of covid-19 (33
in England under age 40, of which only 3 under the age of 19). Panning
out, among healthy under 60s (i.e. children and the vast majority of our
working population), 253 people have died of covid-19 in English
hospitals; this compares to 400 (non-suicide) drownings per year in the
UK. And taking all age-groups where there are no pre-existing
conditions serious enough to be mentioned as contributary causes of
death, covid-19 has taken about 2/3rds the lives that British roads do
every year, and we wouldn’t think of outlawing driving, swimming or
going outside in a storm."
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