The QALY measure is a volatile number that depends on the nature of the intervention as well as the age of the patient. The older the patient, the fewer remaining life‐years. For example, if the majority of patients are over 65, then perhaps a reasonable valuation would equate to 20 quality‐adjusted life‐years, or $1 million. The order of magnitude difference between that and a statistical life reflects that the statistical life encompasses the entire economically productive life of the individual. For medical interventions most of the productive life for such individuals is in the past; note that 42% of COVID‐19 deaths are in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. This cohort represents just 0.6% of the US population. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2020/05/26/nursing‐homes‐assisted‐living‐facilities‐0‐6‐of‐the‐u‐s‐population‐43‐of‐u‐s‐covid‐19‐deaths/#7548521c74cd. This means that the statistical life estimate of $10 million might be an overestimate of the actual valuation of the lives lost, as these lives are mostly typical of the age range of the Medicare population and beyond their economically productive years. The true economic valuation could be closer to $1 million per statistical life than to $10 million.