Just a quick comment: I’d be wary of any answers to this that focus narrowly on the health impact (eg expected death toll) without trying to factor in other major impacts on well-being: economic (increased poverty and especially unemployment, reduced GDP, lost savings due to market drop), geopolitical (eg increased nationalism/protectionism, and even increased potential for war), and maybe more—even basic things like global anxiety! (Also some benefits, eg reduced carbon emissions, though I’d argue these are overrated.) These aren’t easy to assess but I’d be very surprised if they didn’t add up to more net impact than the deaths/illnesses themselves.
Just a quick comment: I’d be wary of any answers to this that focus narrowly on the health impact (eg expected death toll) without trying to factor in other major impacts on well-being: economic (increased poverty and especially unemployment, reduced GDP, lost savings due to market drop), geopolitical (eg increased nationalism/protectionism, and even increased potential for war), and maybe more—even basic things like global anxiety! (Also some benefits, eg reduced carbon emissions, though I’d argue these are overrated.) These aren’t easy to assess but I’d be very surprised if they didn’t add up to more net impact than the deaths/illnesses themselves.
Such an answer is exactly what I am looking for!