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Thursday 8 October 2020 09:00, UK Image: The declaration makes several suggestions to achieve herd immunity Top scientists are calling for a herd immunity approach to the coronavirus pandemic by allowing people who are less vulnerable to the effects of the disease to return to normal life.
The so-called Great Barrington declaration, signed by leading experts from the universities of Oxford, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Cambridge, Sussex and York, suggests herd immunity as a way forward.
The declaration states: "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 through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk.
"We call this focused protection."
More from Covid-19 But other scientists have described the idea of "focused protection" as "wishful thinking".
Dr Rupert Beale, group leader of the cell biology of infection laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, says herd immunity is "very unlikely" before a vaccine is found.
He said: "This declaration prioritises just one aspect of a sensible strategy - protecting the vulnerable - and suggests we can safely build up 'herd immunity' in the rest of the population.
It is not possible to fully identify vulnerable individuals, and it is not possible to fully isolate them.
"Furthermore, we know that immunity to coronaviruses wanes over time, and re-infection is possible - so lasting protection of vulnerable individuals by establishing 'herd immunity' is very unlikely to be achieved in the absence of a vaccine."
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Hundreds of musicians give protest performance The declaration follows comments by the leader of the NHS in England, Sir Simon Stevens, who said that asking all over-65s to shield would be "age-based apartheid".