‘Going outdoors is what stops every respiratory disease’
A veteran scholar of epidemiology has warned that the ongoing lockdowns throughout the United States and the rest of the world are almost certainly just prolonging the coronavirus outbreak rather than doing anything to truly mitigate it.
Knut Wittkowski, previously the longtime head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at the Rockefeller University in New York City, said in an interview with the Press and the Public Project that the coronavirus could be “exterminated” if we permitted most people to lead normal lives and sheltered the most vulnerable parts of society until the danger had passed.
“[W]hat people are trying to do is flatten the curve. I don’t really know why. But, what happens is if you flatten the curve, you also prolong, to widen it, and it takes more time. And I don’t see a good reason for a respiratory disease to stay in the population longer than necessary,” he said.
Ilhan Omar Rages at Reporter Who Confronted Her About Financial Disclosure: ‘You’re Stupid’
Judge Slams the Brakes on Democrats’ Virginia Redistricting, Rules Every Vote ‘Ineffective’
Mexican national convicted of illegally voting in US after false citizenship claims faces removal: DHS
DC pipe bomb suspect pleads not guilty to terrorism and WMD charges
Virginia court declares state’s redistricting vote was unconstitutional in legal win for Republicans
National Gallery of Art receives record $116 million donation for America’s 250th birthday
Appeals Court Sides With Texas on 10 Commandments in Classroom, Overruling Lower Court
Chuck Schumer’s Attempt to Defend the SPLC from Stunning Indictment Earns Him Mockery
Virginia House GOP hangs election survival hopes on courts after gerrymander
Federal court blocks Newsom’s bid to shackle ICE in Trump immigration win
Dem senator likens ICE operations in American streets to oppressive British regime during Revolutionary War
Idaho murders: New book on Kohberger reveals previously unseen evidence, claims sheath could be inadmissible
Trump Rips SCOTUS a New One: Dems Don’t Need to Add Justices Because the Court Is ‘Already Packed’ for Them
Marine veteran allegedly gunned down by husband in attack outside home, police say
Biden Loves to Say His WH Bid Was Sparked by Charlottesville Rally, Which DOJ Says the SPLC Helped Plan
“With all respiratory diseases, the only thing that stops the disease is herd immunity. About 80% of the people need to have had contact with the virus, and the majority of them won’t even have recognized that they were infected, or they had very, very mild symptoms, especially if they are children. So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated,” he added.
Wittkowski argued that the standard cycle of respiratory diseases is a two-week outbreak, including a peak, after which “it’s gone.” He pointed out that even in a regime of “social distancing,” the virus will still find ways to spread, just more slowly:
Ilhan Omar Rages at Reporter Who Confronted Her About Financial Disclosure: ‘You’re Stupid’
Judge Slams the Brakes on Democrats’ Virginia Redistricting, Rules Every Vote ‘Ineffective’
Mexican national convicted of illegally voting in US after false citizenship claims faces removal: DHS
DC pipe bomb suspect pleads not guilty to terrorism and WMD charges
Virginia court declares state’s redistricting vote was unconstitutional in legal win for Republicans
National Gallery of Art receives record $116 million donation for America’s 250th birthday
Appeals Court Sides With Texas on 10 Commandments in Classroom, Overruling Lower Court
Chuck Schumer’s Attempt to Defend the SPLC from Stunning Indictment Earns Him Mockery
Virginia House GOP hangs election survival hopes on courts after gerrymander
Federal court blocks Newsom’s bid to shackle ICE in Trump immigration win
Dem senator likens ICE operations in American streets to oppressive British regime during Revolutionary War
Idaho murders: New book on Kohberger reveals previously unseen evidence, claims sheath could be inadmissible
Trump Rips SCOTUS a New One: Dems Don’t Need to Add Justices Because the Court Is ‘Already Packed’ for Them
Marine veteran allegedly gunned down by husband in attack outside home, police say
Biden Loves to Say His WH Bid Was Sparked by Charlottesville Rally, Which DOJ Says the SPLC Helped Plan
You cannot stop the spread of a respiratory disease within a family, and you cannot stop it from spreading with neighbors, with people who are delivering, who are physicians—anybody. People are social, and even in times of social distancing, they have contacts, and any of those contacts could spread the disease. It will go slowly, and so it will not build up herd immunity, but it will happen. And it will go on forever unless we let it go.
Asked about Anthony Fauci, the White House medical expert who for weeks has been predicting significant numbers of COVID-19 deaths in America as well as major ongoing disruptions to daily life possibly for years, Wittkowski replied: “Well, I’m not paid by the government, so I’m entitled to actually do science.”
Story cited here.
