Not devaluing the lives of the elderly is implicitly devaluing the lives of the not elderly. This is a trade off that was given almost no consideration in the greater (US) discussion.
> They do tho. Maybe not 100%, but to a degree they certainly do.
The degree is extremely important here. Without a certain level of transmission prevented this benefit becomes nonexistent. See grandpa enough times and he’ll catch it. That you don’t know the degree but still felt safe seeing him is very concerning and you were likely mislead.
> Not even sure what you're saying here.
Choosing to focus on masks and vaccines while ignoring obesity removes are principled arguments for the former. The latter has benefits both against future pandemics of all kinds as well as broad public health benefits. Thus, anyone not raising hell about how fat America is while advocating for forced vaccination and mask wearing is playing politics and not really interested in public health outcomes.
Like you, people claimed forced vaccinations were justified by externalities - but the same logic was not applied to forced weight loss.