If Lockdown Was a Drug, Would We Use It?
Dr. Kerry Nield PhDDr. Juergen Dobmeyer MDDr. David Cook PhD. DisclaimerThis article represents the opinions of the authors and does not represent the opinions of any business or entity for which the authors work or have worked. One of the central tenets of healthcare provision is that all patients have the right to expect equal treatment. Unfortunately, much as we might wish to offer the best treatments to all, there are only finite resources available and so it is necessary to balance the needs of different patients to ensure their fairest distribution. This is a difficult balancing act, but over the years we have developed approaches to ensure such judgements are as objective and as equitable as possible. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE1) is responsible for doing this, but the approaches taken by NICE are not unique and similar methods are used by healthcare systems around the world.2 Non-pharmaceutical interventions such as the imposition of societal restrictions, ‘lockdowns’, aim to have clinical outcomes i.e., a reduction in COVID-19 cases and deaths. However, unlike almost all other medical inventions these have not been subjected to the normal assessments used to test their effectiveness and worth. So, what if lockdowns were a new treatment, ‘Lockdown™’, would we use it? Three important areas are considered by...
