How many deaths are acceptable in 'zero-Covid-19' economies? From Australia to Hong Kong, that's the tough question

As the Asia-Pacific’s “zero-Covid-19” economies pick up the pace of their sluggish vaccination drives, a difficult question looms on the post-pandemic horizon: how many deaths should a society accept? Even if they can achieve high vaccination rates, low- Covid-19 bubbles such as Australia , New Zealand , Hong Kong , Singapore and Vietnam – which saved countless lives with border closures, sporadic lockdowns, and social distancing measures – will likely have to confront unprecedented coronavirus fatalities if they are to ever return to pre-pandemic life. Herd immunity – the threshold at which widespread transmission ceases, which experts currently place at…