Search with google More This article is more than 3 months old Scientists call for Covid herd immunity strategy for young This article is more than 3 months old Critics describe proposal to isolate vulnerable, disabled and older people as ‘grotesque’ Science editor Tue 6 Oct 2020 19.16 BST Last modified on Wed 7 Oct 2020 04.37 BST The scientists argue that young people, such as self-isolating students at Sheffield Hallam University, pictured, should be allowed to resume normal life.
Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA An international group of scientists has called on governments to overturn their coronavirus strategies and allow young and healthy people to return to normal life while protecting the most vulnerable.
The proposal, drawn up by three researchers but signed by many more, argues for letting the virus spread in low-risk groups in the hope of achieving “herd immunity”, where enough of the population is resistant to the virus to quell the pandemic.
Described as “ ”, after the Massachusetts town where it was drawn up, the plan marks the latest round in a hotly contested debate between scientists who back to the crisis.
In a responding to the declaration, Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at Yale University, said shutdowns and other interventions were necessary to reduce rates of infection.
With nearly half of the population having some underlying health risk for Covid-19, he said herd immunity strategies were about “culling the herd of the sick and disabled.
It’s grotesque.” Topics Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.