*Visit the site at this link: https://gbdeclaration.org/view-signatures/
<https://gbdeclaration.org/view-signatures/>*
*And then read this document and realize that many thousands of scientists,
medical professionals and ordinary thinking people have signed it---far,
far more expertise and meaningful opinions than we have received from Dr.
Fauci and the scumbag gang at the CDC.*
The Great Barrington Declaration
The Great Barrington Declaration – 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.
Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted
our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing
devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to
name a few) 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, with
the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest
burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.
Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause
irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.
Fortunately, our understanding of the virus is growing. We know that
vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in
the old and infirm than the young. Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less
dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.
As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all –
including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will
eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new
infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not
dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize
mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.
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.
Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of
public health responses to COVID-19. By way of example, nursing homes
should use staff with acquired immunity and perform frequent testing of
other staff and all visitors. Staff rotation should be minimized. Retired
people living at home should have groceries and other essentials delivered
to their home. When possible, they should meet family members outside
rather than inside. A comprehensive and detailed list of measures,
including approaches to multi-generational households, can be implemented,
and is well within the scope and capability of public health professionals.
Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life
as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home
when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity
threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching.
Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young
low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants
and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural
activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if
they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon
the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity.
*On October 4, 2020, this declaration was authored and signed in Great
Barrington, United States,*
