@goldie The debate can be easily settled.
What would you do for cold/flu? It's the same. Natural evolution of viruses goes from most deadliest in the beginning, and the immune system learns and reacts. Each successive infection changes the virus, and the reaction of the human immune system slightly. It always evolves into something less deadly. Cold/Flu isn't deadly because otherwise it kills the host and it cannot spread. Viruses can't live outside the host.
Did you know the Black Plague that killed up to half the population of medieval Europe still exists? Did you know the 1918 flu still exists? You don't hear of them even though people still die of it, because it's inconsequential in the big picture.
An average non-Western human body has 3,000 various bacteria on the body. Westerner has 2,000. The point was that Western countries have high cases of autism, allergies, skin conditions, and endless other ailments. They serve a function and purpose.
The elderly do have an immune system, although not as strong. If they did not have an immune system, they'd be at the hospital with everyone handling them with gloves, oxygen masks on, shielded by plastic covers to prevent any infections. Look into people at the latter stages of AIDS. Definition of AIDS is dead immune system. They get sicknesses that doctors haven't heard of, or haven't heard of for 300 years. Most people fight it off.
In Japan after the massive earthquake followed by a Tsunami, compromised the nuclear reactors in Fukishima. They had to go and deal with the meltdown, but they could not. They sent in robots specially shielded against radiation(2 years work) but once it got close enough it would fail. Thus some went in personally. Older Japanese people said the younger people are our future so we should go to save the future of the nation. It speaks to the bravery of the people. The problem locking down entire societies mostly consisting of people who can fight off infections is precisely that.