Hi dan,not sure how misinformation is making it more difficult to keep people alive? The policies we have are despite what I'm guessing is decent information, not because of specious misinformation. If you're concern is that people aren't following what haphazard rules we have been given thereby leading to greater infection rates, I'd say that the reason people aren't following the rules that closely is because with schools and airports and colleges open, what is the bloody point? I have a social group less than 5 but including my kids and their school friends, teachers, families and extended families my social contact extends to probably more than a thousand, nearly all of whom I don't know and wouldn't know if they had covid even had they been tested.

With that in mind, I'd say misinformation can be countered if we have the time, rather than shut down. The more you shut down people (I see it round here where I live), the more they double down.

I wrote a little in response to the original post but lost it; my thoughts were (in response to tomski) that yes, flu can lead to pneumonia and in turn, sepsis and shut down of vital organs, so that's not a reason to reject the argument. The reason would be rate of infection and the different way in which covid affects the lungs compared to flu. It becomes more dangerous because you can't drain the excess fluid and ventilate effectively, and more people are getting it, therefore more people get it in a bad way.

Pretty sure I have that right and if so, there's no harm in pointing it out again. After all, ed just asked for thoughts on it.

Maybe not your job to do so, but the only good counter to misinformation is information. Anything else has the effect of solidifying beliefs.

And even so, it makes no difference to govt policy, focused around economics and not health. Maybe it's embarrassing to think you're hosting the occassional word on the subject which is ignorant, but so long as folk are learning something I don't see why it's important to shut debate.

Obviously your call but just my thoughts.

Derek