The benefits of trying to build widespread public immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Netherlands are significantly outweighed by the benefits of trying to contain the virus instead, a new report by KPMG Health and the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam has argued. On this basis, according to the researchers, the cabinet and RIVM should be clearer about which strategy they intend to follow.
"[A] containment strategy offers significant benefits both to the economy and to public health when compared to group immunity," said David Ikkersheim, a partner at KPMG Health. In effect, he believes, such a strategy could save the Dutch economy as much as 123 billion euros by 2022, equivalent to over three percent of GDP. "If other European countries also participate in this strategy, this will increase even further," Ikkersheim added.
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I assume they mean absent a vaccine. Had the Netherlands gone with a containment programme instead of a mixed approach of flattening the curve and herd immunity then more lives would have been saved and the economy would have fared better.