Fact check: Herd immunity would not fully stop the spread of coronavirus

[TexasTowelie]

Claim: Herd immunity, not social distancing, would stop COVID-19

Although most experts are encouraging the public to practice social distancing to “flatten the curve” – a phrase used to describe the attempt to distribute the lifespan of the outbreak more gradually over time so as not to overwhelm the health care system – some people have disagreed with that tactic.

Knut Wittkowski, a former biostatistician at the Rockefeller University, claimed social distancing is not the right way to handle the pandemic.

Wittkowski was quoted in a WND article – which cited a YouTube video and was shared extensively on Facebook – as saying that achieving herd immunity is the only thing that stops respiratory diseases like COVID-19. He advocated for schools to be opened because within weeks, enough people will have been exposed to the virus and achieved immunity to stop the spread of the virus.

The Rockefeller University released a statement on April 13 addressing Wittkowski’s claim and stating his views “do not represent the views of the Rockefeller University, its leadership, or its faculty.”

Read more: https://www.alicetx.com/zz/news/20200418/fact-check-herd-immunity-would-not-fully-stop-spread-of-coronavirus

Well geez, if you can't believe an article on WND what can you believe?

[Igel]

1. Yes, no, maybe.

It would be like measles is. There are those who can contract it. They wouldn't be that common.

It wouldn't stop individual cases, or possibly short chains, but it would stop widespread transmission and push the number of infected people in a transmission chain to zero fairly quickly.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. That's a big maybe because we don't know yet how much immunity, if any,

people get if they've had the virus. Getting a common cold - some of which are caused by different corona viruses - doesn't make you immune to colds because those viruses mutate so often. The characteristics of COVID-19 wrt mutation are not yet known. And we don't have reliable test for immunity, either.

[greyl]

13. There are definite examples of people who have recovered from symptoms, and still test positive,

and other examples of "recoveries" testing negative only to test positive again later.

We need testing on the scale of Bic and Pilot pen production and distribution, and I don't see what the problem is, other than the fact that dotard has not yet utilized The Defense Production Act.

[Hoyt]

3. Nothing will FULLY stop spreading, not even a vaccine.

[TexasTowelie]

4. True,

but usually the symptoms associated with a vaccine are usually far less severe than the symptoms that are caused by a live virus.

[Hoyt]

5. Was thinking of folks who don't get vaccinated. Definitely think a vaccine

would be a game changer, but assuming they actually find one, it’s aways off.

Hopefully, something, or a combination of things including better treatment, will beat this chit.

[Celerity]

6. plus the anti-vaxxers will refuse (how many I have no clue)

[Celerity]

7. geo-blocked

[TexasTowelie]

9. Sorry about that.

I saw the same article at other media sites associated with that publisher. You might want to try searching on the title of the article to see if it is available.

[Celerity]

10. I found it at the original source

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/04/18/fact-check-herd-immunity-would-not-fully-stop-spread-coronavirus/5156368002/

[TexasTowelie]

11. Wonderful!

I had no doubt of your resourcefulness.

[Celerity]

12. thanks for the article, ironic as now our head state health people are saying

Stockholm will reach 'herd immunity' within weeks (per our head State Health administrators)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213312321

[Baclava]

8. Nothing is 100%

[marybourg]

14. It has worked in the past, for example in the flu pandemic of '57,

but this virus is far too deadly to to allow nature to take its course.