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The idea of using group immunity Managing the COVID-19 pandemic, by allowing low-risk people to acquire the infection naturally as they resume their normal lives, is a “dangerous” and “flawed” approach, according to a new letter signed by 80 international researchers. .
The letter, published on Wednesday (October 14) in the magazine The lancet, seems to be an answer to the Great Barrington Declaration, a proposal published earlier this month by three researchers calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions in favor of a herd immunity strategy. Such a strategy, the statement says, would involve allowing young, healthy people to return to their normal lives and develop immunity to the virus, while protecting vulnerable populations.
The Great Barrington statement has allegedly been signed by tens of thousands of experts and physicians, as well as members of the general public; However, the document generated more controversy last week when many signatures were found to be fake, according to The Guardian.
The new letter, called Memorandum of John Snow, in honor of pioneering epidemiologist John Snow, who first linked a London cholera outbreak to a contaminated water pump, calls this concept of herd immunity “a dangerous fallacy not supported by scientific evidence.” Evidence shows that uncontrolled outbreaks of COVID-19 cannot be restricted to particular sectors of society, according to the authors, which include experts in public health, epidemiology, virology, infectious diseases, and other scientific fields. “Uncontrolled transmission in younger people runs the risk of significant morbidity and mortality throughout the population,” they wrote.
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What’s more, understanding who is vulnerable to COVID-19 is complex, and even young and apparently healthy people have developed long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19 infection, known as “long COVID“said the authors.
Also, there is no solid evidence that people develop immunity after natural infection with COVID-19. Therefore, allowing more people to contract the disease “would not end the COVID-19 pandemic, but would cause recurrent epidemics” and “would place an unacceptable burden on the economy and health workers.”
As the United States and Europe face a second wave of COVID-19 cases, “it is essential to act decisively and urgently,” the memo argues.
In the short term, restrictions are likely to be needed to reduce transmission and give countries time to fix “ineffective pandemic response systems” to avoid future blackouts, according to the letter.
“The purpose of these restrictions is to effectively suppress SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] infections at low levels that allow rapid detection of localized outbreaks and [a] quick response … so that life can return to near normal without the need for widespread restrictions. “
The authors noted that countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and New Zealand have shown that COVID-19 transmission can be controlled with proper public health tactics. In those countries, life has returned to normal.
“The evidence is very clear: controlling the community spread of COVID-19 is the best way to protect our societies and economies until it is safe and effective. vaccinations and the therapies will arrive in the next few months ”, the authors concluded.
The memorandum has been posted online, with 80 signatures at the time of publication. Other experts in the relevant fields are invited to sign the document. And the signatures will be verified before being added to the memo, according to the website.
Originally posted on Live Science.
