According to a new report from POLITICO, a former top Trump appointee urged for health officials to adopt a “herd immunity” approach to the coronavirus pandemic, allowing for millions of people to be infected.
“There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD,” then-science adviser Paul Alexander wrote on July 4 to his boss, Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo, and six other senior officials.
“Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk….so we use them to develop herd…we want them infected…” he added.
The news sparked a wave of outrage from President Trump’s critics on Twitter.
Most experts think herd immunity with no vaccine would cost 2.5 MILLION lives.
Here is an advisor to the president advocating for millions of Americans to die. Disgusting. https://t.co/J4JGVqnMS4
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) December 16, 2020
WHAT? "There's no other way, we need to establish herd, & it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the #virus. PERIOD." No, this is not #scientifically accurate & did anyone bother to look at ANY OTHER COUNTRY to see HOW we could address #COVID19 https://t.co/DefqTRGx34
— Dr. Beth S. Linas(she/her) (@bethlinas) December 16, 2020
America has the worst outbreak of COVID in the world.
Why?
Because the GOP policy was "we want them infected" https://t.co/gp4E2N4H5E
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) December 16, 2020
This hurts to read.
“We need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus…Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk….we want them infected." https://t.co/UaAY1MY3Df
— Eric Conrad (@EricConradFL) December 16, 2020
Not only is this a violation of ethics (biomedical and otherwise), it represents an incomprehensively naïve view of how herd immunity works. https://t.co/3YCxaBrjoq
— (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) December 16, 2020
