But while the impact of lockdown policies is still being studied, new research paints a troubling picture of the immense collateral damage inflicted by them.
The measures increased poverty and wealth disparities, spurred a dramatic rise in adolescent anxiety and depression, contributed to a surge in fatal drug overdoses, and led to devastating learning losses in schoolchildren, who have yet to recover, according to scientific studies. As of last spring, the average American student remained half a grade behind pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading, according to a recent report card on pandemic learning loss...

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Those critical of lockdowns point to sobering data showing that, despite widespread school and business closures, the United States had among the worst mortality rates in the developed world during the pandemic...

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The other problem with lockdowns, say many scientists, is they cannot be sustained indefinitely. And once they are lifted, people start interacting again and infections can spread rapidly. For instance, China’s abrupt decision in December 2022 to end its zero-COVID policy, which included stringent quarantines and lockdowns, led to a massive surge in hospitalizations and deaths in the following two months, according to a 2023 study in the medical journal JAMA...

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Indeed, in October 2019, the World Health Organization analyzed a range of responses to past pandemics, including the 1918 “Spanish flu,” and recommended against forced quarantines of individuals or populations, saying there was “no obvious rationale” for such measures and they were impractical to implement.

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