Daily US Times: The US’s top infectious doctor Anthony Fauci said if the United States allowed coronavirus infections to run rampant to achieve possible herd immunity, the death toll would be massive, especially among vulnerable people.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained the risks during a live Instagram session.
Fauci said: “If everyone contracted it, even with the relatively high percentage of people without symptoms … a lot of people are going to die.”
According to Johns Hopkins University report, tt least 167,298 people have died in the US from coronavirus as of Friday.
Dr Fauci said: “You look at the United States of America, with our epidemic of obesity as it were. With the number of people with hypertension. With the number of people with diabetes. If everyone got infected, the death toll would be enormous and totally unacceptable.”
Herd immunity is reached when a majority of a population becomes immune to a disease either through vaccination or infection and recovery. When the herd immunity happens, the disease is less likely to spread to people who aren’t immune because there just aren’t enough infectious carriers to reach them.
Whether survivors of Covid-19 have immunity is not clear to the scientists, though some have still suggested that allowing Covid-19 to plow through populations might help reach herd immunity more quickly if possible — but that would be a disaster for hospitals. More people would die not just from the coronavirus but from other infections, too and doctors would be overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Twitter Friday morning that museums and cultural institutions across New York City can open with restrictions beginning August 24.
“25% occupancy. Timed ticketing required. Pre-set staggered entry,” he tweeted, adding face coverings and controlled traffic flow will be enforced.
California reaches a grim milestone
Thursday was the 18th consecutive day the United States had more than 1,000 deaths. The country also reported another 51,000 new cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. California became the first state in the nation to top 600,000 cases.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the White House Coronavirus Task Force blasted Georgia for its rising infection rates and urged the state to adopt a mask mandate.
Fauci said: “You can’t run away from the numbers.”
“You can’t run away from the numbers of people who’ve died, the number of people getting hospitalized, the surges we’re seeing.”
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