Noah Smith's attempt to convince Twitter that COVID lockdowns were a great idea goes SO very wrong

Sam J. | 1:51 PM on December 20, 2022

Only a doorknob would think the COVID lockdowns were a great idea. Oh. Our bad.

Noah Smith tried to make his case for lockdowns not only being a good idea but a great one. Hey, don’t make that face, we didn’t write it.

Take a gander:

"Lockdowns" (or rather, the half-assed social distancing stuff we called "lockdowns" were a great idea in 2020, until we got vaccines that worked. Then they became a bad idea. If that's a nuanced or difficult idea to understand, well, I'm sorry!

— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) December 20, 2022

Lockdowns were never a good idea.

Vaccine or no vaccine.

And sorry, not sorry.

Keep going.

The reason they were a good idea in 2020 is that everyone was so scared of the virus in those days that they were going to stay home anyway, as they did in Sweden; "lockdown" just coordinated that widespread behavior. So there was no economic damage. In 2021 that changed.

— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) December 20, 2022

There was economic danger from the get-go, chief.

Anyway …

The correct Covid approach, in hindsight, from both an economic and life-saving standpoint, was:

1. Lockdown in early 2020

2. Masks, ventilation, and restrictions on indoor events in late 2020

3. Universal vaccination and reopening in early 2021

4. Universal boosters

— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) December 20, 2022

I’d say they were a good idea until May, 2020. By that time, we knew the only people realky at risk were elderly and immunocompromised.

We should have targeted “lockdown” policies for those at risk. Immense damage happened to society and children due to continued “lockdowns”

— M0ser (@TM0s41) December 20, 2022

No, it's just wrong is all

— SgtKOnyx (@SgtKOnyx2) December 20, 2022

pic.twitter.com/wnOv45vAw2

— Bicycle Boy (@mcandrus) December 20, 2022

The lockdown focus should have been more towards protecting the elderly and the immuno-compromised.

The rest of us should have been left to decide based on our own risk tolerance, and that includes schools. Parents make these calculations every day, even pre Covid

— Más Kapital (@IllinNoize) December 20, 2022

How were they a good idea? They were just focused protection, but for the young and wealthy. Who got to have a diabetic 50ish delivery worker bring them things while they patted themselves in the back for being heroes.

— HJGTweet (@HjgTweet) December 20, 2022