Thousands of medical and public health experts have signed on to a declaration calling for an end to lockdown policies in favor of a more targeted approach to combatting the coronavirus pandemic.
Harvard University professor Dr. Martin Kulldorff, Oxford University epidemiologist Dr. Sunetra Gupta, and Stanford University physician and epidemiologist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya wrote and published “The Great Barrington Declaration” on Sunday. It has since drawn tens of thousands of signatories.
By Wednesday morning, nearly 3,200 medical and public health scientists, nearly 4,800 medical practitioners, and over 73,100 others had signed onto the declaration. The declaration comes as some elected officials in the U.S., such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are cracking down again on their states with renewed lockdown measures.
“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 declaration begins.
More than 9,000 medical professionals concerned about the physical and mental health consequences of current COVID-19 policies have signed a declaration that recommends fighting the virus using an approach called “Focused Protection:”
Called the Great Barrington Declaration, the signers argue:
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.
The declaration stresses that lockdown policies are producing “lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health.” The declaration goes on to say that it is “a grave injustice” to keep kids out of school, because for them, “COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.”
For those who are vulnerable, many of the procedures already in place should be maintained, such as testing nursing home staff and visitors for the virus, having supplies delivered to the homebound, and having those at risk meet with family members outdoors.
For those who are not vulnerable, life should go back to normal while maintaining basic hygiene, such as staying home when sick and frequent hand washing.
According to The Federalist, the three co-authors of the declaration, “Drs. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University, Sunetra Gupta of Oxford University, and Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University...have each recently provided counsel to the White House in navigating the subsequent phases of the pandemic.”
Over 87,000 members of the general public have signed the declaration as well.
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