Experts Think The Economy Would Be Stronger If COVID-19 Lockdowns Had Been mais Aggressive 

Water = wet.

conservatives are bEtTer eConNoMiC mAnAgErS

One thing that is gonna hit really hard is the long-term health effects of Covid in countries that didn't have a strong health response. We are already seeing some medium-term health effects in 'recovered' Covid patients. These effects are distressing and are preventing people from working. So mass-infection also means a larger number of the 'covid long-haulers' (many young and healthy prior to infection) who are already unable to contribute the economy they were sacrificed for. We also do not know anything at all about the long-term effects of Covid... it could shorten the lifespan by 20 years... it could trigger other syndromes (or new syndromes) 10 years from now... so as well as ignoring the lessons of previous pandemics, an economy-led response also takes a massive, blind risk that the economic impacts won't be felt later with another Covid-triggered health disaster that cripples a not insignificant proportion of the population.

Health-led responses are keeping the present and the future (health and economy) in mind, whereas the economic-led responses are about prioritising the economic present and hoping for a healthy future. Globally, the economy is going to be very precarious. But recovery (and the potential for new understandings of the economy - I don't hold my breath because the majority are still sluts for capitalism despite all this *gestures everywhere*) will favour, and is already favouring, the countries that prioritised public health and did so quickly.

"Health-led responses are keeping the present and the future (health and economy) in mind, whereas the economic-led responses are about prioritising the economic present and hoping for a healthy future."
Well-said

"It could trigger other syndromes (or new syndromes) 10 years from now"
Yep. Last week, Australia's leading neuroscience institute link finding that coronavirus may cause damage to the brain, which is likely to lead to a wave of neurological illness in the future (including Parkinson's disease). It's happened before: five years after the Spanish flu pandemic, there was a three-fold increase in the incidence of Parkinson's disease. The incidence of Parkinson's was already set to explode due to an ageing population - now add 35 million cases of covid-19 onto that. According to one professor, the societal and economic consequences are looking to be enormous.

Also see link. Death toll is not the only indicator - many many people seem to have ongoing issues even months after catching covid-19. It may actually be worse for young, fit and active people due to immune overreaction. These "long haulers" are living with symptoms such as intestinal issues, fatigue, debilitating headaches, loss of sight and incontinence.

As you said, countries that didn't properly lockdown for the sake of the short-term economy have taken a massive, blind risk in terms of the economy for the coming decades.

"and the potential for new understandings of the economy - I don't hold my breath because the majority are still sluts for capitalism despite all this *gestures everywhere*"
Lmao the bullshittery of this year made me finally see the (anti-capitalist) light and I don't think I'm alone. link, link, link.

- 20 years of my life, sign me up!!!

But seriously. Like there is little to no regard for the working class and poor. Retail and food workers (and overworked hospital staff) are getting screwed over in terms of both wealth and health. And wealth and health are very closely linked in the covid era.

^"wealth and health are very closely linked in the covid era"

Yep. Also one of the problems of non-universal healthcare is that a whole bunch of Americans lost their job - and thus their healthcare - in the middle of a pandemic

That too. It's depressing really. Granted every job I had came with no benefits so I was screwed from the start.