[Neurons] For Reducing Unreasonable fears about Covid-19

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

Source: https://gbdeclaration.org/ 

David Murphy drew my attention to this

As did several others.

 

The Great Barrington Declaration

 

 

The Great Barrington Declaration – As infectious disease epidemiologists and
public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical
and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend
an approach we call Focused Protection. 

Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted
our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing
devastating effects on short and long-term public health. 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. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice. 

Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause
irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.

Fortunately, our understanding of the virus is growing. We know 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. 

As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all –
including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will
eventually reach herd immunity – i.e.  the point at which the rate of new
infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not
dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize
mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity. 

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. 

Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of
public health responses to COVID-19. By way of example, nursing homes should
use staff with acquired immunity and perform frequent PCR testing of other
staff and all visitors. Staff rotation should be minimized. Retired people
living at home should have groceries and other essentials delivered to their
home. When possible, they should meet family members outside rather than
inside. A comprehensive and detailed list of measures, including approaches
to multi-generational households, can be implemented, and is well within the
scope and capability of public health professionals. 

Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as
normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when
sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold.
Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching.
Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young
low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and
other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural
activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if
they wish, while 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.

 <https://gbdeclaration.org/#sign> SIGN THE DECLARATION

Co-signers

Medical and Public Health Scientists and Medical Practitioners

Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, physician, epidemiologist and public policy expert at the
Veterans Administration, USA

Dr. Stephen Bremner,professor of medical statistics, University of Sussex,
England

Dr. Anthony J Brookes, professor of genetics, University of Leicester,
England

Dr. Helen Colhoun, ,professor of medical informatics and epidemiology, and
public health physician, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Dr. Angus Dalgleish, oncologist, infectious disease expert and professor,
St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London, England

Dr. Sylvia Fogel, autism expert and psychiatrist at Massachusetts General
Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School, USA

Dr. Eitan Friedman, professor of medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

Dr. Uri Gavish, biomedical consultant, Israel

Dr. Motti Gerlic, professor of clinical microbiology and immunology, Tel
Aviv University, Israel

Dr. Gabriela Gomes, mathematician studying infectious disease epidemiology,
professor, University of Strathclyde, Scotland

Dr. Mike Hulme, professor of human geography, University of Cambridge,
England

Dr. Michael Jackson, research fellow, School of Biological Sciences,
University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Dr. Annie Janvier, professor of pediatrics and clinical ethics, Université
de Montréal and Sainte-Justine University Medical Centre, Canada

Dr. David Katz, physician and president, True Health Initiative, and founder
of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, USA

Dr. Andrius Kavaliunas, epidemiologist and assistant professor at Karolinska
Institute, Sweden

Dr. Laura Lazzeroni, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of
biomedical data science, Stanford University Medical School, USA

Dr. Michael Levitt, biophysicist and professor of structural biology,
Stanford University, USA.
Recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. David Livermore, microbiologist, infectious disease epidemiologist and
professor, University of East Anglia, England

Dr. Jonas Ludvigsson, pediatrician, epidemiologist and professor at
Karolinska Institute and senior physician at Örebro University Hospital,
Sweden

Dr. Paul McKeigue, physician, disease modeler and professor of epidemiology
and public health, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Dr. Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics, expert on vaccine development,
efficacy, and safety. Tufts University School of Medicine, USA

Dr. Ariel Munitz, professor of clinical microbiology and immunology, Tel
Aviv University, Israel

Dr. Yaz Gulnur Muradoglu, professor of finance, director of the Behavioural
Finance Working Group, Queen Mary University of London, England

Dr. Partha P. Majumder, professor and founder of the National Institute of
Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani, India

Dr. Udi Qimron, professor of clinical microbiology and immunology, Tel Aviv
University, Israel

Dr. Matthew Ratcliffe, professor of philosophy, specializing in philosophy
of mental health, University of York, England

Dr. Mario Recker, malaria researcher and associate professor, University of
Exeter, England

Dr. Eyal Shahar, physician, epidemiologist and professor (emeritus) of
public health, University of Arizona, USA

Dr. Karol Sikora, physician, oncologist, and professor of medicine at the
University of Buckingham, England

Dr. Matthew Strauss, critical care physician and assistant professor of
medicine, Queen’s University, Canada

Dr. Rodney Sturdivant, infectious disease scientist and associate professor
of biostatistics, Baylor University, USA

Dr. Simon Thornley, epidemiologist and biostatistician, University of
Auckland, New Zealand

Dr. Ellen Townsend, professor of psychology, head of the Self-Harm Research
Group, University of Nottingham, England

Dr. Lisa White, professor of modelling and epidemiology, Oxford University,
England

Dr. Simon Wood, biostatistician and professor, University of Edinburgh,
Scotland

 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com 

 

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