The collective immunity strategy to beat Covid-19 swallows many victims

YAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – University of Indonesia epidemiology expert Pandu Riono said that using the crowd immunity strategy to overcome the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) was highly unethical.

“So the choice is very unethical. Because it will cause some people to become infected and die,” Pandu said on Kompas.com on Wednesday (05/13/2020).

Herd immunity is an epidemiological concept when the spread of an infectious disease will be hampered because a population group is immune to the disease.

Also read: Government Spokesperson: We Do Not Use Collective Immunity Strategies To Face Covid-19

According to Pandu, the use of this strategy would make it difficult for hospitals to handle the increase in Covid-19 positive patients.

He explained that the use of herd immunity meant that the government allowed the community to become infected and become immune to the virus itself.

Pandu added that to cause collective immunity, about 70 percent of the community must be infected with Covid-19 first.

Also read: WHO: Collective immunity to the Corona virus is a dangerous concept

Because, until now, no vaccine has been found to prevent the virus.

“Hospitals are overwhelmed and the death rate will be high. We must suppress death, not just repress cases,” he said.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy had mentioned collective immunity.

Also read: Epidemiologist: Don’t Let the Government Cover Covid-19 With Collective Immunity

At the webinar on May 7, 2020, Muhadjir argued that Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) were in the middle, between extreme closure options and collective immunity.