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Did lockdowns save any lives?

Did lockdowns only reduce Covid-19 mortality by 0.2%?

Lockdown. A word we’ve all become overly familiar with over the past two years. Lockdowns were intended to protect people, especially societies most vulnerable, from the risks associated with contracting Covid. However, a new study has been making headlines which claims to show that mandatory lockdowns have only reduced Covid-19 mortality by 0.2%, or one death in five hundred. We examine the evidence behind the claim.

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9 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sun 27 Feb 202214:50GMT
  • Sun 27 Feb 202223:50GMT
  • Mon 28 Feb 202203:50GMT
  • Mon 28 Feb 202210:50GMT

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.

When can you trust statistics?

When can you trust statistics?

BBC Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.

Podcast