Published 16 October 2020
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
By Divya Rajagopal
Synopsis
The stalemate is over whether countries should protect the vulnerable and let the younger people — who face low risk of being severely impacted by Covid-19 — go about their lives and in the process lead to natural immunity, or whether they should reject this idea and implement measures leading to suppression of the disease.
Mumbai: Experts in Europe and America are divided over what should be the course of action in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The stalemate is over whether countries should protect the vulnerable and let the younger people–who face low risk of being severely impacted by Covid-19–go about their lives and in the process lead to natural immunity or whether they should reject this idea and implement measures leading to suppression of the disease.
“Any pandemic management strategy relying upon immunity from natural infections for Covid-19 is flawed. Uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity and mortality across the whole population. In addition to the human cost, this would impact the workforce as a whole and overwhelm the ability of healthcare systems to provide acute and routine care,” the John Snow letter said.
It added that continuing restrictions will probably be required in the short term to reduce transmission and fix ineffective pandemic response systems in order to prevent future lockdowns.
The John Snow group believes that the purpose of these restrictions is to effectively suppress SARS-CoV-2 infections to low levels that allow rapid detection of localised outbreaks and rapid response through efficient and comprehensive find, test, trace, isolate, and support systems so life can return to near-normal without the need for generalised restrictions.
This is where the Great Barrington Declaration differs. It says the most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. “We call this focused protection”, the signatories explain.
Adding that current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health, which include low childhood vaccination rates, fewer cancer screening and deteriorating mental health, leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice, the signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration say, adding that keeping these measures in p ..
