General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What the Data Says About Pandemic School Closures, Four Years Later [View all]Prairie Gates
(1,104 posts)The extended closures into Fall 2020 and then some even in Winter/Spring 2021 were almost certainly excessive and damaged children's progress.
At the same time, it was really in some ways an unprecedented situation without a lot of data, and with a panicky, unsteady government response. The last similar situation was 100 years before, and the data from that was not good. This time we've kept better data and will have learned more that is actionable for the next time. I think the models you've presented here are likely accurate, but I do think "spread" is different than deaths. We really don't know how many more (!) would have died had we kept the schools open. EVeryone got it eventually, sure, but we had more effective countermeasures by Fall 2020, and vaccines in circulation by Winter 2021.
A million people died. A MILLION. It's all well and good to tsk-tsk in hindsight, but a million people fucking died.