If a shutdown is a necessary public health measure in 2020, then why didn’t anyone ever suggest a shutdown when things were just as bad—and even worse—a few years ago?

Or, would COVID-19 have hit far harder if it weren’t for social distancing and shutdowns—for example, did this state’s mitigation policies prevent Winter-Spring 2020 from becoming a repeat of 2017–2018?

But if mitigation works, then why has New York—the most mitigated of all—experienced such a severe death toll for respiratory illness this year?

Keep asking questions. Your state might be shut down, but don’t let your brain be shut down.