China’s “zero Covid” policy has a dedicated following: the millions of people who work diligently toward that goal, no matter the human costs.

Literally the first sentence. Meanwhile close to 1 million Americans have died.

  • GnastyGnuts [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    From September of last year, but as fresh as ever: https://fair.org/home/nyt-china-needs-to-rethink-its-not-letting-people-die-from-covid-policy/

    The argument that China should show “higher tolerance for Covid” comes down to the “punishing economic and social cost” and “pandemic fatigue” cited by the “health experts” in the September 13 Times piece. The economic cost is easier to calculate: With its zero-Covid policy, China’s GDP grew 2.3% last year, one of the few major economies to have a positive growth rate in 2020, while the US shrank by 3.5% with its lots-of-Covid strategy.

    Climbing out of that hole, the US is expected to do well this year, with the IMF projecting a 6.4% growth rate. But China is expected to do even better, with an estimated 8.4% growth rate. If China is paying an economic cost for having 99.3% fewer Covid deaths, it’s not a huge cost.

    The “social cost” of “pandemic fatigue” is harder to quantify. But if, like most of our readers, you live in the United States, ask yourself: Do you feel like you are free of “pandemic fatigue” because you live in a country that has a “higher tolerance of Covid”? Do you think that most citizens of China—which reopened schools for in-person learning in September 2020, not 2021—would happily exchange their coronavirus anxiety for ours?

    “Misery loves company” is an old saying. It’s not a good principle for health reporting, though."