Temporary homeless shelter set up in a parking lot amid the coronavirus pandemic in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (Image Credit: David Becker/EPA/EFE)

We’ve been told repeatedly by government that the ‘lockdown’ and shutting down entire economies and societies is all about “saving lives.” However, upon closer examination, this proposition by government does not appear to be as straightforward as the popular sound bite might suggest. The hard questions still need to asked: on what basis have government ‘experts’ made such profound and world-changing decisions? Were these policies really thought through by our political leaders, or merely driven by wild speculation, a hyperbolic media and general mass panic? Do they even make any scientific sense?

Since this crisis has taken hold, a number of eminent experts have stepped forward to offer a more informed analysis than government, are openly challenging the efficacy of extreme government interventions to the coronavirus. Recently, Dr. David Katz has led a discussion on the concept of “total harm minimization” – a plan which he has formulated and which is designed to protect the most vulnerable people both from both Covid-19 and a whole range of ills including those which result from social isolation and economic shut-down.

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM is a preventive medicine specialist and globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine. He is the founder and former director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); Past President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; President and Founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and Founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc.