Just to give one counter-point: Take New Zealand. Its geographical isolation, low population density and strict national lockdown and contact tracing, led to i

Just to give one counter-point: Take New Zealand. Its geographical isolation, low population density and strict national lockdown and contact tracing, led to it eliminating the virus. However, now it has a set of policies that increase its isolation, and is stuck with them until an effective vaccine or treatment is found: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/new-zealand-beat-back-the-coronavirus-but-families-were-left-divided-and-migrant-workers-stranded-in-the-process/ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/new-zealand-beat-back-t... In the absence of a vaccine, herd immunity is the only durable solution to the virus, and New Zealand is foregoing that solution to avoid a spike in deaths in the short term. And indeed, the original plan, of 'flattening the curve' was tolerant of COVID19 deaths, and aiming for herd immunity. But somewhere along the way, death from COVID19 became politically intolerable in the US, and now any rise in deaths leads to a call to re-lockdown, even when COVID19 cases are well below ICU capacity.