Stanford doctor calls for the end of total lockdowns in the US
In this article published by The Hill Dr. Scott Atlas says that there is enough data that supports the end of total lockdown in US states. He says that instead of overemphasizing estimates, leaders must utilize empirical evidence and the fundamentals of biology when creating COVID-19 response policies and guidelines.
In this article, Atlas highlighted five key points: (1) the overwhelming majority of those infected with the coronavirus do not develop any complications, (2) the protection of at-risk groups will stop hospital overcrowding, (3) current isolation policies prolong the problem because it prevents the development of “population immunity”, (4) people are dying because they are unable to receive the medical treatment they need, and (5) there is a clearly defined group of people who are highly at-risk for the disease, and must be targeted by government interventions.
Editor’s Note: Latest news from the US shows us that it is not the country’s resource that determines the effectiveness of the COVID-19 response.
Though the US is an affluent country, news shows that it is unable to muster political will to create a unified COVID-19 strategy. There are reports of panic buying, street protests against lockdowns, and daily videos of overwhelmed medical frontliners, while the US president attempts to peddle different COVID-19 “medicines” [Just a few hours before writing this article, various news outlets have reported that President Trump suggested the use of disinfectants to kill the virus. Read this article to learn more.]
This tells us that simply lifting lockdowns will not be enough to contain the coronavirus. Societal institutions, in this case, those involved in the political sphere, must first understand the role they play in the strategy vis-a-vis the other sectors of society. Moreover, authorities must approach the issue of COVID-19 holistically, taking into consideration the economic, political, cultural, and societal impact of any approach they will adopt [This is is perhaps one reason why the Swedish approach is far superior. To learn more read, Stockholm, Sweden Expected To Reach Herd Immunity In Weeks]. At present, at least in the US, ending lockdowns is highly politicized, with proponents of the idea getting personally attacked. Meanwhile, some US politicians wish to end lockdowns not because they truly understand the science behind this proposal, but because they fear for the economic implications of such a rigid approach.
Unfortunately, if no safeguards are created, if no clear direction is mapped for the US, a simple lifting of lockdowns would only cause further division, and at worst, could even lead the American society to a breaking point. And just as the 2008 financial crisis has led to a worldwide recession, whatever happens to the US today will have widespread implications to the post-COVID life of the rest of the world.
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Judging from their text messages, I am glad this article has independently attracted the interest of perceptive individuals who are intelligent enough to think on their own. They did not know that we had already posted this article. For those who have not read the article yet, it would be most helpful to do so. Among others, it contains more accurate figures of the death rate where actual antibody tests (not speculation) were done. It shows the relatively miniscule mortality rates in New York City, the epicenter of the US pandemic for adults and the young. For people under 18, the death rate was ZERO per 100,000 cases. For people between 18-45, the death rate was 10 per 100,000 cases or 0.01%. And 99.2% of all 6,570 confirmed COVID-19 deaths had underlying illness. The article also makes a case that lockdown and isolation hinders the development of collective immunity. All these points give updated support to the key aspects of my Briefing Paper to President Duterte.