The Netherlands removed restrictions, saw cases exponentially rise, so the PM apologized for the mistake and reintroduced some restrictions (closing night-clubs).

Spain has had a similar experience, and recently reintroduced restrictions in Barcelona (among other areas) due to the rise of cases among young people.

By contrast, England is the outlier where by removing all restrictions we are deliberately pursuing a herd immunity strategy through infection instead of waiting until everyone that wants the vaccine has had both doses.

HOWEVER, I think there is a strong argument that the end result will be the same. The vast majority of people will end up with antibodies, just young people in the UK will be more likely to get them the hard way.

I think both the statement by the head of the WHO emergencies program that it is “moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity” AND Sajid’s statement that it is “now or never” are valid to certain degrees. In many countries and many topics, politics trumps the health of the nation and COVID is no exception.