[JordanFarmer]

> The key question: how much money (or resources) should you, or we, be willing to pay to gain more life?

This whole article is based on a false premise. We can spend x dollars to stop this virus from getting to poor old grandma. We cannot stop this virus. Any vaccine will not help significantly either as it has mutated many times and will continue to do so. The shutdown and stay at home were only measures to slow infection rates, buying time to prepare hospital beds, tests, masks ETC.

This virus will continue to spread until 80% of the population has had it (herd immunity). The financial cost has been paid, we are re-opening and will not close again unless we overwhelm the measures that we have put in place. The second wave of the 1969 pandemic virus is still with us folks (it's one of the seasonal flu varieties). This one isn't going away save a miracle.

Pandemics are nothing new. We get through them and move on (sounds harsh but is the reality). We are a communal people. It isn't possible to "burn out" this particular virus. This article seems to think we somehow can buy our way out of it.

[xg15]

> Any vaccine will not help significantly either as it has mutated many times and will continue to do so.

> This virus will continue to spread until 80% of the population has had it (herd immunity).

If the virus mutated as rapidly as you assume (I haven't seen any sources for this) there wouldn't be any natural herd immunity either.

[jhayward]

You contradict yourself. Either the virus is mutating rapidly, meaning there can be no herd immunity, or it is not and a vaccine is likely. They are both based on the same underlying biological facts.