Epidemiology scientists sign "Great Barrington Declaration"
Initiated by Dr. Martin Kulldorff (Harvard), Dr. Sunetra Gupta (Oxford) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (Stanford), and signed by a number of other scientists and doctors. Some highlights:
[we] recommend an approach we call Focused Protection
Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health
We know that vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young... As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls
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... We call this Focused Protection.
Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching. Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity.