I dont disagree but the media definitely screwed up the narrative early and when the deaths started to skyrocket they pushed that way more than they did the other effects. By the time they shifted to discussing in depth the other huge factors it was too friggin late and the Trumpers had their argument.
This is the 3rd time I'm going to at least partially agree with Handyman today. Shocking.
However, the irony is that most of us who objected to the early lockdown cited those same "other effects" as reasons against going full lockdown. It was not a stretch to see that having people's lives ruined when they lost their jobs or were locked in their homes would cause lots of other issues was hardly Nostradamus stuff. The media had to press the scariest part of the outlook (and what is scarier than death?) for them to get the nation's attention, and they managed to achieve that goal.
To now want to retroactively add on these other factors - for which the 99.997% of the rest who survived (and for the less numerically inclined, that's 1 out of 33,333 cases - not scary. but very very unlucky) ... well, that's trying to have your cake and eat it too. Without the widespread (and in some cases continuing) lockdowns, those "other effects" aren't so great.
Brief example - NH vs. MA. Neighboring states. Here in NH we came out of restrictions much earlier, and our unemployment rate is about 6.5% - still higher than usual, but decent. MA at last check was three (3) times as high - highest rate in the US.
There are a HUGE amount of MA folks up here on weekends - even more so than usual for a tourism-based economy, like a big chunk of our state. But it will be even more, since our other neighbors - ME and VT - remain nearly as locked down as MA has been. So MA folks who might ordinarily go through NH to get to ME or VT are now stopping in NH. And the ironic thing is, ME and VT both have lower deaths, lower hospitalizations, and lower cases than we have in NH.
My ME and MA friends are pretty angry (and getting angrier) with their governors. I know how taxing it was for two months of lockdown where we are, I can't imagine what six (6) months' lockdown would do to my mental health, physical health, etc.
If your lifestyle is a cautious and sedentary one, then maybe this doesn't bother you as much.
The "other effects" arise from extended lockdowns, which many states have shown as unnecessary.
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