A declaration authored by three top epidemiologists and signed by thousands of medical and public health scientists proclaims that lockdown orders like Gov. Cooper’s are causing more harm than good, and should be replaced by a more focused and sensible strategy.
Titled The Great Barrington Declaration, the statement begins:
As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.
The statement was authored by three preeminent members of the medical and public health profession: Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a Harvard epidemiologist and professor of medicine; Dr. Sunetra Gupta, Oxford University professor, epidemiologist and expert in modeling infectious diseases; and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford medical school, epidemiologist and infectious disease expert.
The Declaration continues:
Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. 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 – 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.
Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.
Civitas has written before about the devastating consequences lockdown orders like Gov. Cooper’s are having, and questioned if they are doing more harm than good.
Instead of lockdowns that are yielding such tragic results, the experts recommend:
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.
Protecting the vulnerable populations – the elderly and immunocompromised – while allowing populations at very low risk to return to living their lives with some sensible precautions can offer a far better solution that both minimizes the COVID threat while significantly reducing the deadly consequences of widespread lockdowns.
The Declaration concludes:
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.
The petition has been signed by more than 3,000 medical & public health professionals, and more than 72,000 members of the general public. You can add your name here.
Cooper constantly lectures us about listening to and following “the science.” Why is he ignoring these expert scientists?
And will the media ever ask him about this?
