From October 1-4, 2020, the American Institute for Economic Research facilitated a gathering of top epidemiologists, economists, and journalists, to examine the worldwide crisis caused by the unprecedented utilization of state compulsion in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The outcome is The Great Barrington Declaration - co-authored and signed by three medical experts, and co-signed by thousands.
The Great Barrington Declaration
Authors of the declaration argue that current lockdown policies produce devastating effects on short and long-term public health. According to them, 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.
However, they declare that fortunately, the scientists' understanding of the virus is growing, knowing 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.
The Declaration calls for replacing Lockdowns with strategies of Focused Protection: "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 reads.
Focused Protection entails that "those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal,' so that '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, by:
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard University, a biostatistician and epidemiologist with expertise in detecting and monitoring infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety evaluations.
Dr. Sunetra Gupta, professor at Oxford University, an epidemiologist with expertise in immunology, vaccine development, and mathematical modeling of infectious diseases.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University Medical School, a physician, epidemiologist, health economist, and public health policy expert focusing on infectious diseases and vulnerable populations.
Co-signers - Medical and Public Health Scientists and Medical Practitioners can be viewed here.
The declaration can be signed here.
