I gave up discussing the virus because so many people were doing it and there was some really thoughtful material out there. But when I come across a particular piece of sanity, I sometimes like to put out just a few brief quotes. Here’s one now:
[There is a] new declaration from scientists that the media are ignoring. Organized by Harvard’s Martin Kulldorff; Sunetra Gupta of Oxford; and Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya, The Great Barrington Declaration recommends that people be allowed to live normally while protecting the vulnerable (emphasis added). The authors are infectious disease experts, and the statements by our deadline have been signed by more than 2,300 medical and health scientists and 2,500 practitioners, and counting. . . .
Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, “Trump, Covid, and Reason,” Wall Street Journal, October 6, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-covid-and-reason-11602026102.
They describe their approach as ‘Focused Protection’, but it’s essentially what Sweden has done and even the World Health Organization is now recommending. . . .
The collateral damage from government lockdowns include ‘lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings, and deteriorating mental health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come. . . .
As The Great Barrington authors explain, ‘vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than 1,000-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young. Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza. . . . ’
The shame is that COVID has become so politicized that the calm reasoning of The Great Barrington scientists is drowned out by the fear and loathing of those who want to blame.
As I’ve written before, I believe this may be the greatest blunder of the last 100 years.