Fauci Cautions Against Herd Immunity Through Widespread Infection - Newsweek

Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious diseases expert, cautioned against using herd immunity through widespread infection as a means of controlling the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that "you're going to wind up with a lot of dead people.".

As one possibility, Hoover asked Fauci about the Great Barrington Declaration, a petition signed by more than 10,000 scientists suggesting that COVID-19 lockdowns are "producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.".

The declaration, Fauci said, implies that state and health officials would "do nothing to block infection," like enforcing face mask mandates and social distancing measures, because the primary focus would be on creating measures to protect people in extended care facilities.

"So, if you think that you have the capability—which we have shown thus far we are not capable of doing that—of all of a sudden magically protecting all the obese people, the people with diabetes, the people hypertension, the people with chronic lung disease," Fauci said, "I say, and many, many, many of my public health colleagues say, if you think you're going to do that, you're going to wind up with a lot of dead people.

The authors of the Great Barrington Declaration acknowledged that "all populations will eventually reach herd immunity," and that the goal should therefore be "to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.".

Despite the declaration suggesting that mortality and social harm should be minimized until herd immunity is reached, one of the co-authors, Dr.

"I don't think we are going to eradicate it, but I think we can get much better control than we have right now with a universally implemented vaccine and good public health measures," Fauci said