Herd immunity was never realistic: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/covid-19-herd-immunity-is-a-mirage-heres-how-the-virus-could-become-manageable-instead/ar-AAP3UNC?li=BBnb7Kz . The headline of this article is correct, in contrast to the first half of the article. Herd immunity was never a realistic possibility, as this newsletter has long documented. There are several interesting comments later in the article, however. We believe COVID’s mortality rate is around 0.6%. So, 0.6% of 8 billion people is 48 million people. Even if herd immunity was achievable at 70%, almost 35 million people would have to die globally to achieve that result. Thus, (non-vaccine) herd immunity is a stupid idea for any disease with significant infectiousness and mortality.
The article also says that more than one-third of COVID infections do not result in protective antibodies. That should pretty much end the “natural immunity” BS as a reason to avoid vaccination. Contrary to the article, the seasonality of COVID and comparison to the flu are both ideas which are contradicted by the evidence. The medical profession needs to shake off this outmoded thinking.
We now believe the issue is not so much seasonality as much as people being indoors in significant numbers. In the American South, this is a significant risk in the summer (with air conditioning). The focus everywhere should be on indoor filtration and ventilation.
The comment from “experts” that “ideally, babies and toddlers would get it multiple times” is bizarre. This assumes that the disease is uniformly mild in children, which is not true. Infants and toddlers die of COVID, and many children exhibit long COVID symptoms. It assumes COVID will become milder and behave like the flu. As noted above, and elsewhere in the article, there is no evidence supporting these assumptions. And so far, COVID’s mutations have made it more deadly, not milder. That is an established fact.
Treatment will continue to progress, and medical advances may be able to control the disease in the future. But there is no substitute for vaccination. And by the way, that is obviously true for the flu as well. As we are working to vaccinate the world now, the obvious solution for future protection is to make vaccination mandatory for school children globally.
We have too many doctors in the media who are seeking publicity and too few who know what the hell they are talking about.
WSJ: More evidence that hospital employee vaccination mandates are working: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccinations-in-new-york-accelerated-ahead-of-healthcare-worker-mandates-11633167002 .
Another Alaska hospital rations care: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-10-02/the-latest-more-us-airlines-requiring-employee-vaccinations . Meanwhile, the state authorizes a total of 20 facilities to ration care: https://www.wpxi.com/news/health/alaska-allows/SKIO5SKPGOWJEYRNRQDE5MGRTA/ .
WSJ: The global vaccine distribution problem: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-makers-say-there-are-enough-doses-for-everyone-poor-countries-are-still-waiting-for-shots-11633179601 .
The global fart report: https://gizmodo.com/everyones-gassy-international-survey-finds-1847784361 . The article raises flatulence to a quality-of-life issue. However, the data shows it’s a fact-of-life issue.
WSJ: Tesla deliveries are up, despite global supply chain disruption: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-deliveries-surge-defying-supply-chain-woes-11633194328