Our COVID-19 mitigation policy of broad societal lockdown focuses on containing the spread of the disease at all costs, without consideration of its consequences beyond those directly from the pandemic: https://bit.ly/2ZGYmJY 

The lockdown policies have created the greatest global economic disruption in history – trillions of dollars of lost economic output. These financial losses have been falsely portrayed as purely economic.

We calculate that these policies will cause devastating non-economic consequences that will total millions of accumulated years of life lost in the United States, devastation far beyond what the virus itself has caused.

Considering only losses of life from missed health care and unemployment, we conservatively estimate that the national lockdown is already responsible for more lost years of life than the COVID-19 total.

Belated acknowledgement by policy leaders of irreparable harms from the lockdown is not nearly enough. They need to immediately inform the public and reassure them of their concern for all human life by strongly articulating the rationale for reopening society.

By following a thoughtful analysis that finally recognizes all available actions and their consequences, we can save millions of years of American life.

When the next pandemic inevitably arises, we need to remember these lessons and follow policies that consider the lives of all Americans from the outset.