Re: "The age distribution of folks who die of CoVID is not a secret, and has been clear since the beginning of the pandemic." Qualitatively, yes. But now that the numbers are in, I'm still (as I said) "gobsmacked" at how high the average age of deaths actually is.(82.5 years average. Average!!)

[Updated 04/02/2022] Re your second point about comorbidities, the average age of deaths will probably be somewhat lower once comorbidities are considered — but how much lower? Only about 1 year. (See Average age of death (median and mean) of persons whose death was due to COVID-19 or involved COVID-19, by sex, deaths registered in March 2020 to June 2021, England and Wales) My neighbour went down with Covid in the first weeks of the epidemic (March/April 2020). She had several comorbidities (serious obesity and asthma being the ones I know about, you could probably add diabetes, plus something which causes poor mobility) but she is under 65. I don’t know full details of her treatment except that it did not involve a ventilator — just occasional oxygen if/when required. She pulled through without too much suffering. (But occupied a hospital bed for several weeks.)

Re “Gideon is an actual epidemiologist”, if there is one thing that this epidemic has shown, it is that epidemiologists still don’t know it all, and they have a lot more to learn. They should be humble (for they have much to be humble about, especially UK’s own Dr Neil Ferguson) and open to listening, reaching-out and communicating.

Also, Gideon is just one epidemiologist. His opinion is his own. It does not represent the canonical position of the entire epidemiology profession — and I would be very suspicious if there was such a thing. I’m in contact with epidemiologists — at least one of whom takes a diametrically opposing view to Gideon’s (to put it mildly). In any field of science there should be room for debate, disagreement and diversity of opinion — and openness to suggestions and criticism from outsiders. (I myself work alongside people of a slightly different profession to my own, — I’m a generalist, they’re the specialists — and I’m struck by how much of their practice is guided by what all-the-others in that profession are doing. “We do it this way because all the others do it this way; and they do it this way because we do it this way” — that sort of thing. It’s all rather intellectually inbred — and this can happen to professions and fields of science which are closed-off to the outside.)

(Re: your analogy about mechanics and specialists, this tired old analogy gets used all the time, and it is pretty dubious. There are numerous lousy mechanics out there. I used to drive 40km right across London just to be sure I was dealing with a good one. And the most assertive/defensive ones are the worst. Me: “Is that Weber carburettor you’re installing there, the right sort? The old one was a Solex.” Mechanic: “Look! I know what I’m doing!!” It wasn’t, he didn’t, and I took my custom elsewhere after that.)

I still think that my basic question about the feasibility of prolonging lives which have already exceeded the normal life expectancy is a challenging one.