Lockdowns in the initial waves of the pandemic had ‘little to no’ effect on coronavirus deaths, a controversial report suggests.
Economists who carried out a meta-analysis found draconian shutdowns imposed in spring 2020 only reduced Covid mortality by 0.2 per cent in the US, UK and Europe.
They warned lockdowns ‘imposed enormous economic and social costs’, concluding they are ‘ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.’
Lighter measures like social distancing and limits on social groups were also ineffective, reducing mortality by 2.9 percent.
However, the review, led by a Johns Hopkins University professor, did find that closing nonessential shops caused a 10.6 per cent drop in virus deaths.
Their report, which has not been peer-reviewed, said that this was probably related to the closure of pubs and restaurants where alcohol is consumed.
The researchers originally identified 18,590 global studies into lockdowns, which they claim had to be whittled down to just 24 to answer their research question.
Critics have accused them of ‘cherry-picking’ studies to suit their narrative and have raised doubts about the biases of its authors, who have been vocal about lockdowns and vaccine mandates on social media.
Most scientists believe that, before the arrival of vaccines and antivirals, lockdowns had a significant effect on cutting transmission and therefore reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths caused by Covid.
But there has been a growing consensus that draconian restrictions have led to a rise in non-Covid deaths, thought to be people whose conditions worsened during the pandemic when they could not access healthcare.
Researchers found that lockdown measures put in place during the early wave of the pandemic only reduced COVID-19 mortality by .2 percent in the U.S. and Europe
The study concluded that lockdowns, school closures, and limiting gatherings did not have a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality
In fact, researchers warned that lockdowns ‘marginal at best’ benefits needed to be compared with their ‘devastating effects’ on the economy and society
In the latest report, the researchers warned that lockdowns ‘marginal at best’ benefits needed to be compared with their ‘devastating effects’ on the economy and society.
‘They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy,’ researchers wrote.
The researchers admit their review does not answer ‘why’ lockdowns didn’t achieve their ultimate goal in saving lives but they float a number of explanations.
They suggest that isolating people at home may have led to them passing a higher viral load to their family members, causing more severe illness.
Another possible theory is that people’s behaviour rebounded after lockdowns squashed case rates so low, they perceived the virus as less of a threat.
The report was led by Steve Hanke, a founder of the Johns Hopkins School of Applied Economics.
He has been an outspoken critic of economically-damaging restrictions throughout the pandemic, describing jab mandates as ‘fascist’.
According to CDC data, from May 2020 to April 2021, the U.S. recorded 100,306 drug overdose deaths, a 28.5 percent increase from the 78,056 deaths that were recorded in the previous 12-month period, Fox News reported.
A 2021 study from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice found that domestic violence incidents increased by 8.1 percent after lockdown orders were issued.
And in April 2020 the unemployment rate rose to a staggering 14.8 percent before eventually dipping to 3.9 percent this December, just slightly above pre-pandemic rates.
All in all, researchers concluded lockdowns sacrifice too much for little in return.
‘Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument.’
In November, President Biden revealed his strategy to fight off COVID and the Omicron variant, saying he would focus on vaccines and boosters, instead of lockdowns and shutdowns.
As of Tuesday, the U.S has recorded a total of 75,112,854 Covid cases and 888,996 deaths.
