[pmoriarty]

"How does this do anything other than reset the clock back to last January just in time for next January?"

First, that alone would be HUGE progress.

"As soon as everyone lowers their guard and goes back to normal, it's going to spread again."

Yeah, but this time you're not going to have whining, tantrum-throwing, conspiracy-mongering, megalomaniacal, science-denying children in charge.

We've yet to see if they wind up being more competent and actually make a difference, but the chance to do proper contact tracing on the relatively few people that get infected will be there, and hopefully the country will take it more seriously the second time around.

I'm not hugely optimistic, but if they actually followed through and were competent in dealing with it this time, it could save millions of lives.

[xscott]

And then what? We're going to impose 2 week quarantines on every flight into the US? Have a dedicated branch of the CDC perform contact tracing on everyone who crosses the borders?

I think you greatly overestimate how politics plays into this. It never ends until we're immune.

[pmoriarty]

No.

You just keep testing people, and do isolation and contact tracing on the ones that get sick.

In the meantime, vaccines will start to roll out.

Curbing this pandemic is perfectly practical and within reach, given the will to do it.