Nuance:

We can't stay locked down until vaccine. Lockdown has serious negative health, mental health, & financial consequences. Good & fair point.

But also, we can't open up until testing/tracing is WIDESPREAD in place, unless we're just ready to say bring on the second wave.

There was a time when flattening the curve was not about stopping spread, but *slowing* spread so that hospital systems didn't get overwhelmed (causing more deaths). Under that philosophy, you could argue opening back up is consistent w/that approach, bc "we're all gonna get it."

I'll admit, I thought that was the case back in early March.

But now that we're actually here, wouldn't it just be much better to get to a place where the spread, nationally, is so minimal that it's very hard for the virus to thrive? And we can test/trace on local levels?

If we could (1) coordinate effectively as a nation, & (2) get testing capacity WAY up, then we could actually open up MORE comprehensively & MORE safely after a slightly longer period of lockdown.

But I don't have faith in 1 or 2, so I guess it's phased opening and more waves?

In conclusion, I - a regular person who doesn't know shit - feel like we're headed down a middle road that is going to prolong the pain, while also not being as effective or safe.

Lockdown sucks. Not lockdown sucks. But that doesn't mean the solution is a weird middle road.