“It's all happening so fast that it's not clear who should be protected. How do you decide if you're at a higher risk? Obesity, high blood pressure, asthma, age — the list of potential risk factors is only just emerging.
"I do not really want individuals to be making those risk calculations, because even understanding that if you're 70 and you're healthy, your risk is actually quite different than someone who is 60 and has underlying diabetes and heart disease," said Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health.
"I think that's the role of government to come up with the guidance that essentially arrives at a consensus acceptable risk within society."