by Tom Kando
Regarding Covid-19, there is quite a bit of talk about “herd immunity” lately. This is the view that the best response to the pandemic is neglect. That is, let the epidemic spread until a majority of the population is infected, after which most people recover and become immune. In this approach, mitigation measures are kept at a minimum; as is damage to the economy... and more people die.
Sweden is one country which tried this route initially. However, when its Covid-caused death rate soared, it changed course. In the US, it is the Republicans and the Trump administration of course who advocate “herd immunity.” The president himself, having survived the virus, is more than ever convinced that the pandemic will blow over and that there is little need for major mitigation.
Absent a vaccine, “herd immunity” can only be achieved if, say, 75% of the total population goes through the wringer (= catches the virus). But how many people die?
I fervently hope that our nation does not throw in the towel, and does not resign itself to “herd immunity,” i.e. to accepting the current astronomical rates of infection and death as the new normals.
However, our record so far is not promising.
I just played with a few numbers. Here are some sad results:
Countries that are worse off than the US (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/):
Number of infections per capita: Andorra, Bahrein, Qatar, Aruba, French Guiana, Israel, Vatican, Belgium, Panama, Czechia, Kuwait, Armenia and Montenegro. We rank 14th in the world. Good company!
Number of deaths per capita: San Marino, Peru, Belgium, Andorra, Bolivia, Spain, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador We rank 10th in the world. Great company! We can be proud of ourselves and thank our great leader Trump for having solved the Covid-19 problem!
© Tom Kando 2020;All Rights Reserved
