Dr. Anthony Fauci slammed herd immunity as “nonsense” in two interviews on Thursday morning, charging that allowing the coronavirus to spread among young, healthy people, an approach that aims for “immunity” through infection rather than a vaccine, is not viable.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, Fauci called it “ridiculous” to support an approach in which “you just let things rip and let the infection go — no masks, crowds,” adding, “You’ll wind with many more infections of vulnerable people, which will lead to hospitalizations and deaths.”
Fauci continued: “This idea that we have the power to protect the vulnerable is total nonsense because history has shown that that’s not the case … we’ve just got to look that square in the eye and say it’s nonsense.”
The White House has embraced the concept, with two senior administration officials in a call with reporters Monday citing an Oct. 4 petition called The Great Barrington Declaration that calls for ending lockdowns.
“Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” the declaration reads. “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.”
Dr. Scott Atlas, a recent addition to Trump’s COVID advisory circle, has spoken favorably of herd immunity. His arrival in late August prompted outcry from public health experts who feared that Atlas would sideline Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.
Fauci disputed The Great Barrington Declaration’s claims in an interview with Yahoo Finance Thursday, calling it “another trap.”
“They say we need to protect the vulnerable. I totally agree with that,” Fauci said. “The other thing is that you don’t want to lock down or close down the country. I certainly agree with that. But in there is the implication that if you just let everybody get infected, don’t wear masks, let children get infected, let everybody get infected, and just protect the vulnerable, that doesn’t work.”
He added: “In our community, there’s maybe a third of the population depending upon how you figure it that are vulnerable and would be prone to getting serious complications from COVID-19 disease.”
