First time I hear the term infodemic but it rings very true.
Jut went though a pretty good article (in German) about Sweden. Some folks in twitter seem to believe that Sweden is the model for how to deal with en epidemic and it is true - Sweden so far has avoided shutdowns and hasn’t really descended into a disaster like Italy or NYC.
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Sweden is interesting on many levels. Yes, the social measures have been applied, in practice, to similar degrees (despite the first level impression) but there are differences. For instance, daycares and schools (age 16 and under) have remained open. Potential bias: the house is full now and i may overestimate the downside to school closures...They have reported higher numbers in relation to a slightly different application of measures but it is interesting to note that this appears to be a (collective) decision made consciously and with a fair degree of consensus. Also, it appears that keeping schools open may have been a good decision because there is good evidence showing that 1-young individuals don't tend to become COVID+ even with exposure which may be related to a relative absence of receptors (specific to entry of CV) on the surface of cells of their respiratory tracts, 2-even when COVID+, young people tend not to become sick and 3-asymptomatic COVID+ kids don't seem to spread very well (for example, there's this reported case of a young (European) person who turned out to be both influenza+ and CV+, who happened to travel places and the person was quite efficient at spreading the flu but not CV).
Sweden shows the potential inter-geography outcomes from different application of measures but there's also the inter-temporal differential outcomes. The 1957 flu in the US occurred in waves (two or three in 1957-8, also came back (maybe a new virus) significantly in 1968). In 1957-8, the US population was about half of what it is now and the estimated excess mortality (numbers vary) came to about 100K for the 1957-8 period and the mortality included younger age groups. At that time, the President and the people were different:
From 1957 (before the fall wave and the vaccine came around the first peak):
"In addition to the steps mentioned above [vaccine distribution related], President Eisenhower has asked for a $500,000 special appropriation from Congress (raised by Congress to $800,000), as well as for authority to transfer about $2,000,000 of public health funds for use in the event of a widespread outbreak. Specifically, the additional $800,000 would be used to develop diagnostic sera to detect the disease, prepare educational material to encourage the use of the vaccine, and to make 10 specialists in epidemic control available for work with state authorities."
Then, the US demographic profile was different and so were the relative absence of comorbidities as well as some cultural differences perhaps.
i guess it's reasonable to affirm that we have improved in some areas but this very statement paints an incomplete picture.
In 1958 (year 2 of the partnerships era), Mr. Buffett was investing in the Sanborn Map Company but he felt that the market was expensive.
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