Elimination vs. mitigation

COVID 19 pandemic posed an important strategic decision. Should we try to eliminate or mitigate?

Studies show that elimination strategy (early, aggressive measures) fared better not only in terms of health and economic outcomes but also for the civil liberty, because the intervention was strong but short-lived. The “mitigation” countries had to impose more liberty-restricting measures due to the spread. See Oliu Barton2021SARS CoV 2.