Brutal choices indeed! And only practical if herd immunity is available or failing that an effective antiviral?

Imagine what sort of world we'd have if the were no whooping cough vaccine and an entire population carrying the pathogen? Trying to acquire illusionary herd immunity? How many newborn babies could we affect and how many would survive in a quest for illusionary herd immunity!? Well?

It's all well and good for a safely quarantined leader encamped on some rural estate or private remote island where he can helicopter to any other safe and sanitised location to pontificate his edict, to espouse such dehumanised insanity?

Herr Himmler and cohort would be proud?

The more we learn about this virus and how to handle it?

The better we might be able to acquire "herd immunity" via vaccinate, test and vaccinate strategies. To protect the, as yet, unborn new generations!?

I have no respect for this alleged "leader" And plenty for Scomo who rises in my esteem almost daily!

Take care and stay safe.
Alan B.

Most hope that the Swedes are not a Teutonic tribe. As with the Germans in the 1940s the cold logic

of some can mask a severe inhumanity eg. allowing more people to die in pursuit of "herd immunity".

"There is no certainty as to the immunological correlates of antiviral protection or the proportion of the population who must attain them, making it impossible to identify a point when this level of immunity has been reached."

Nevertheless, HI will be attained, whatever the proportion that is necessary to arrive at it. Furthermore, this attainment must be achieved before the virus may evolve, leaving a tail of the population always susceptible each year (as with the 'flu).

Whether HI is pursued or not, it will come and the virus will take the hindmost. Sweden will have fewer deaths per thousand en route to HI than its Scandinavian neighbours, because the less time the vulnerable are quarantined, the less likely the quarantine will be breached by the virus.

It looks like the virus naturally comes in waves and Sweden appears on the downside of the first peak. By my reckoning it still has a fair way to go before HI is reached.

Dear Luciferase,

While the Swedish primary schools stayed open their high schools and universities did not. While Australia's manufacturers keep their operations going some of the large ones such as the car makers in Sweden did not.

However Sweden has lost about 12% of those recorded as infected while Finland it is 4%.

It will be interesting to see the hits to economy between us and Sweden.

Luciferase,

" .... the virus will take the hindmost."

I suppose we'll see soon enough if HI works. I don't think it will. It's a ghastly philosophy, verging on fascism. Are you aware that countries have health services ? It's no longer 1355 ?

I'm happy to compare Australia's approach - and performance - with Sweden's any day.

Joe

This is the greatest own goal in history with countries wrecking their economies and imprisoning their own citizens for what exactly. More years of life for unhealthy old people? Medical idiots lording it over the rest of us rather than looking after us?
One thing I know, whenever politicians say they are doing something for my own good they are cheating me! Emergency? When there are reductions in public service pay I will accept an emergency.