This global shortage is caused by lockdown. Its clear that lockdown created massive problem. Way more than the virus itself. We need to make sure that lockdowns don't happen again in the future.
Lockdowns are the only solution for stopping the spread of an infectious virus or bacteria. How you implement the lockdown and how long for depends on the infection rates and treatment requirements.
If everyone masked/maintained hygiene/social distanced, then lockdowns can be lessened, but the best way to stop infections is to stop providing the environment were infections can occur.
Unless there are both effective and scalable treatment options, then some form of isolation is the only alternative.
Lockdowns simply don't work. How do I know? Because Sweden, which for a long time refused to introduce any COVID restrictions at all, has less deaths per 1M people (1317) than France (1425), which introduced full lockdown.
Also, Texas recently lifted all the restrictions couple weeks ago, and number of cases and deaths is still falling.
For vast majority of people, covid is non issue. Most people will either have no symptoms or only have mild symptoms. So no, not everyone will get sick from covid.
Of course, like any other disease there will be some death, particularly for old people and people with underlying condition but nothing that could cause problem as greater than mass lockdown.
My statement is essentially, some disease is preferable than mass lockdown.
Wanting to eradicate disease is good and I support it but not with something that caused massive problem that is worse than the disease.
"As the pandemic spread out from its Asian epicentre, countries implemented lockdowns, halting economic movements and production. Many factories closed temporarily, causing large numbers of containers to be stopped at ports"
Not so much lockdown, as mobility issues. For example, many labor-dependent industries like fruit picking and construction normally depend on migrants or seasonal labor from overseas, and are having a very hard time coping without it.
I agree. Social distancing + vaccination is pretty much the only effective strategy so far. Lockdowns do enforce that, but they also create vast damage beyond what's needed.
