We are never going to "beat" the virus with lockdown restrictions. We could be in lockdown for two years, and the virus would still be there. We could try to ho

We are never going to "beat" the virus with lockdown restrictions. We could be in lockdown for two years, and the virus would still be there. We could try to hold out for a vaccine, but the optimistic estimate for a timescale is still on the order of a year or two. Meanwhile, the lockdown has real costs. Setting aside the direct economic effects (which I do believe are also important to consider), isolation and reduction of income cause real mental and physical health problems. At some point, the costs of the lockdown exceed the costs of the virus. I won't pretend to know exactly where that line is. The only real solution, in my mind, is to go for herd immunity as quickly as possible. That doesn't mean relaxing all restrictions, but it does mean tailoring the restrictions to maintain a high, but manageable case load in order to let the virus go through the population as quickly as possible without overwhelming medical systems. Of course, we should do our best to protect vulnerable people both to avoid unnecessary deaths and to limit the strain on health care. I believe the balance can be found, and as we learn more, we will be able to tailor our methods to control the virus while minimizing the impact on society.