What do peanuts have to do with lockdowns?

Unintended consequences.

A thread:

Peanut allergies were rare among American children up until the mid-1990s, when only four out of a thousand children under the age of eight had such an allergy. But by 2008, the rate had more than tripled, to fourteen out of a thousand.

No one knew why kids were becoming more allergic to peanuts. But the response was natural and seemingly rational: kids are vulnerable so keep them away from peanuts, peanut products, and anything that has been in contact with nuts of any kind.

But there was a severe and negative unintended consequence of this action, which was guided by the best intentions.

Researchers behind the authoritative LEAP study published in 2015 told half of participating parents to follow the standard advice for high-risk kids, which was to avoid all exposure to peanuts and peanut products.