"Flattening the Curve" : What Does it Cost, and What Does it Buy Us?

In mid-March, states and localities across the United States began taking measures to reduce or delay the acceleration of new cases of novel coronavirus infection and the related illness, COVID-19, which epidemiologists refer to as "flattening the curve." The goal has been to avoid exceeding existing healthcare capacity, while also buying time to increase that capacity and develop potential treatments and vaccines. But flattening the curve involves trade-offs that are both highly complicated and consequential; and indeed, some policymakers and citizens are becoming increasingly concerned that the costs of "social distancing" mandates and recommendations have started to outweigh the benefits.