Shocking Analysis Shows ‘Ill-founded’ Lockdowns Had ‘Little to No Benefit’ on Public Health
When lockdowns first went into effect in early 2020, some people questioned whether the “cure” was worse than the “disease” — choosing instead to continue living their lives and maintaining a sense of normalcy for their children.
Two years after “15 days to flatten the curve,” a study has now been published proving lockdowns did almost nothing to stop COVID, prevent deaths or benefit public health — a vindication of common sense.
We were told lockdowns would save lives as the mainstream media bombarded us with campaigns promoting ridiculous COVID policies, pictures of celebrities enjoying less freedom and catchy “Stay home, Save lives” slogans.
Thousands of infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists on Oct. 5, 2020, expressed grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of COVID policies in a document called the Great Barrington Declaration.
The authors, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Sunetra Gupta and Dr. Martin Kulldorff were gaslighted by U.S. health agency officials and the mainstream media, as Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Fancis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health, attempted to smear and discredit them as fringe scientists.
People who continued to live their lives as they did before, were deemed defiant and disobedient Americans as Fauci took to the media in an effort to cancel American holidays — recommending people substitute their food, fun and fellowship for a Zoom call.
According to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies, lockdowns “had enormous economic and social costs,” and only reduced COVID mortality by a mere .2% in the U.S. and Europe.
“While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted,” the researchers wrote. “In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument.”
The researchers — John Hopkins University economics professor Steve Hanke, Lund University economics professor Lars Jonung and special advisor at Copenhagen’s Center for Political Studies Jonas Herby — analyzed the effects of lockdown measures, like mask mandates, school shutdowns, shelter-in-place orders and business closures had on COVID deaths.
“We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding that they only reduced COVID mortality by 2.9%. Studies assessing only shelter-in-place orders found a mortality reduction of 5.1%, but when combined with other lockdown measures, shelter-in-place orders actually increased COVID mortality by 2.8%.
The analysis also showed limiting gatherings may have actually increased COVID mortality.
“[Shelter-in-place orders] may isolate an infected person at home with his/her family where he/she risks infecting family members with a higher viral load, causing more severe illness,” the researchers wrote.
“But often, lockdowns have limited peoples’ access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places.”
The only intervention that appeared to have any noticeable effect was the closure of non-essential businesses, which reduced mortality by 10.6%. This was attributed mostly to the closure of bars.
Researchers compared the results to unintended consequences of lockdowns, such as rising unemployment, reduced schooling, an increase in domestic violence incidents and surging drug overdoses.
There were 100,306 deaths caused by drug overdoses from May 2020 to April 2021 — a 28.5% rise over the previous 12-month period, CDC data show. Domestic violence rose 8.1% after lockdown orders were issued. Suicide statistics went through the roof. Ninety-seven percent of students experienced loss of learning, according to a Horace Mann survey.
“They [lockdown measures] have contributed to reducing economic activity, rising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy,” the report said.
Perhaps if the world had taken their advice from censored “fringe scientists,” thousands of deaths could have been prevented and people could have adopted the healthy lifestyle measures that actually prevent and reduce the severity of disease.
Read the study below.