The pandemic five years later: what happened?

INTRODUCTION
In the discussion we will attempt to answer the following factual questions regarding the pandemic's causes and effects.

• What caused the pandemic?
• What causes underlied the government's response to the pandemic?
• Were the epidemiological premises underlying the government's response to the pandemic sound?
• Did the measures mandated by the government effectively contain the virus and/or save lives?
• What cause ended the pandemic?

Following this, we will attempt to answer the following philosophic questions:

• What would a response to a pandemic based on the philosophic premise of individualism consist of?
• What would a response to a pandemic based on the philosophic premise of collectivism consist of?
• Which of these two courses did the government follow?
• Was it the appropriate course?

REQUIRED READING:

• Has New York City achieved herd immunity? (2020 essay)
• Did the vaccines or natural herd immunity end the COVID-19 pandemic? (2024 essay)

* * * * * *

Our Meetup location, Le Pain Quotidien, is a private business; so that our group remains welcome, please don't arrive with beverages purchased from outside, and please be willing to purchase at least one beverage or menu item during the event.

AN IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING NO-SHOWS
Unfortunately, there is a longstanding problem in our group with large numbers of people who sign up frivolously and neither cancel nor show up, leading to large waiting lists of others who lose their opportunity to attend. Please note that going forward, those who sign up and neither cancel nor show up will be permanently removed from the group. Also, if you need to cancel, please have the courtesy to give at least 24 hours' advance notice rather than canceling immediately before the event, so those on the waiting list have an opportunity to attend.