White House informally endorses letting pandemic spread unchecked

During the call, the unspecified White House officials touted a document supporting the idea of herd immunity as a plan to control the pandemic, saying it reflected the administration's thinking.The document, called the Great Barrington Declaration, was prepared by a libertarian think tank with the assistance of a handful of scientists who have been pushing the idea that COVID-19 isn't much of a threat. How normal medical care could be provided during an unchecked pandemic was left as an exercise for the reader.The researchers then go on to claim that "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." The declaration's version of compassion is then described as essentially ending any restrictions on high-risk activities—work, schools, concerts, sports, and more should resume for anyone who's considered low risk.The declaration even suggests higher-risk individuals might want to risk death for the benefit of society: "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."The WHO's Ghebreyesus is not impressed with the idea. Without that understanding, it's difficult to determine whether any population is truly low risk.All of that doesn't even get into the issue of why herd immunity wasn't considered an option in the first place: unchecked infection of even the less-vulnerable population risks overtaxing the health care infrastructure, causing excess mortality from non-COVID-19 conditions and leading to the exact same loss of normal medical care that the Great Barrington declaration is complaining about.Finally, Ghebreyesus reminded everyone that lockdowns were just one tool in a large arsenal of interventions that can be used to control the pandemic.