COVID-19 & Public Policy

At the time of writing this piece, it has been 127 days since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. Nations have since imposed lockdowns, with some states and cities cycling through shutdowns and re-openings. We are all eagerly waiting for the discovery of a vaccine as soon as possible, but that remains another 6–12 months away, according to some reports. Yet even then, it is unlikely that early versions of such a vaccine will be a panacea; for instance, the annual flu vaccine is 40–60% effective and only protective for several months. There may not be any complete…