To be brutally cold: the goal is almost never to save as many lives as possible. Even hospitals don't use that goal. We estimate the economic value of life and use quality adjusted life years to determine if a potentially life saving treatment is worth paying for.
We make these decisions constantly. You make these decisions every time you leave the house. People die every day from things we could have prevented if we had the inclination.
If the goal is to save as many lives as possible, why are driving and alcohol permitted? Because of personal freedom and the economy.
Treating this pandemic differently would be emotion driven.
Maybe because the scientific advice may be ambiguous and leave room for interpretation which the politicians must exercise under the best of circumstances.
My reading of the letter is that it challenges the scientific advice, as it has been communicated in the media, and seeks to clarify the "wiggle space" politicians have to work with.
WHO did the same thing with their oblique, opaque and 'without naming names' bulletins of urgency. Politics at a time like this is a very, very bad idea.
They should state with absolute clarity what they think should immediately happen instead of meekly asking two questions.
FFS