To be clear, I am not saying that the Great Barrington Declaration is the model with which I suggest. I use that as an example of the dissenting opinions of Scientists regarding how to handle the Pandemic. I have stated my opinion in the past with which my recommendation. I have never changed my opinion once the data pointed to a clear vulnerable sector.
Like you, I am the kind of person who tries to keep up with the evolving science, research and perspectives, largely because I want the best that is known and thought to inform my views. That’s not so easy to do in an age of misinformation, but it’s still my goal.
The Great Barrington Declaration can be viewed from a wide variety of perspectives. It’s fame really lasted just 5 minutes, and one of the main reasons for this is that economists of all stripes, people who typically disagree far more than they agree, are largely united in one core conclusion: the people who actually fall into the “Focused Protection” group are also the same people who control most of the western world’s wealth and generate the lion’s share of its economic activity. Many of them would be pleased as punch to see economic activity around the world return to pre-pandemic norms (greed knows no bounds), but that’s as far as they’ll go.
Rightly or wrongly, the generation possessing the greatest cumulative wealth in human history does not want the Declaration implemented. They view it as a first-step threat to their economic power and autonomy. Yes, the declaration proposes a kind of “opt-in, opt-out” mechanism, but the rich and powerful flat out don’t trust this. We live in a world where the most vulnerable people to the virus are at the same time the most powerful. Can you really blame them for poo-pooing any perceived threat to their dominance?
