Yes lockdowns and some of our liberties have been taken away for health reasons. We should question when this happens.
But overall it has saved a lot of lives and serious illness.
Just FYI - Not sure where the above study is from because there is no source but note the time period was 2010 - 2016 (6 years) and there was 675 deaths in those six years so about 115 deaths per year from the flu.
The delta variant flu data for under 17s is 412 cases and I note the first cases of the Delta variant in USA was around May 2021. It probably wasn't the dominant variant until about August 2021 meaning it was circulating throughout the community for only about a month. But let's use the argument of May 2021, meaning in 4 months its killed 412 in 4 months, so at minimum thats 1236 cases per year. There it is over 10 times more deadly during a period of people being cautious via lockdowns, mask wearing and sanitising hands (which were not the conditions of 2010 - 2016.
I know I am not going to change your mind, but thought I would engage in some debate about the data.
Around the causal links, it is not the perfect way I agree. If someone gets the vaccination and hit by a bus the next day it can be recorded as a vaccination death which is the same case for COVID deaths. But because both are comparable and consistent its the best method we have to measure.
