Most important point IMHO is
This point has been made in the past. It is unrealistic to expect 12-18 months of lock down (optimistically speaking about the availability of a vaccine, not to mention that the efficacy of a vaccine in building immunity over actual exposure to the virus is questionable). As such the focus should be on reopening ASAP with reasonable measures and focus on better treatments for the ill.
This point has been made in the past. Of course it was always about reasonable measures and finding better treatments for the ill. (Not to mention the obvious point of not overwhelming hospitals). Those don’t *delay* deaths, they *prevent* them. Case in point is the breakthrough study on the efficacy of dexamethasone released today.
Nobody
ever called for 12-18 months of lockdown. Nobody. EVER. You’re debating against a nonexistent viewpoint.
Of course, some seriously vulnerable people may want to take even more measures than the standard “reasonable” measures generally accepted until there is a vaccine or even better treatment/prevention protocols in place.