– Dual Visions © 2020. All rights reserved.
Denmark and other countries are closing down to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Harvard professor Miguel Harnán do instead encourage world leaders to make partial shut down by exposing certain groups of young and healthy people to the virus, for thereby generating a “safety” shield for the elderly and weak.
In theory a very nice thought, if just the Covid-19 had been a predictable disease which was harmless for the young and healthy people. But if we take a look at a country like Iran, which is severely affected by the disease, we will notice that dozens of young and otherwise healthy nurses and doctors have died because of Covid-19.
We are talking about a disease which currently have a murder rate of 8.25% of all victims which are getting symptoms. One reason for this very high number, may very well be that the local hospitals do not have the necessary resources to save everybody. Or said in other words, some people may not survive without special treatment. To deliberately expose young and healthy people may therefore cause the death of thousands which could have been avoided, if the disease instead was brought under control, like the Chinese apparently have managed to do it.
So why not do like the Chinese do, instead of jeopardizing the safety of young and otherwise healthy people?
Or maybe should professor Miquel Harnán first try to get Covid-19 before he speaks up?
- The danger of new Corona also known as COVID-19 caused by the virus SARS CoV-2
- 93 million people may die if we don’t stop Covid-19
Categories: Reflection
Tags: #stratifiedlockdown, coronavirus, covid-19, death, flu, Harnán, herd immunity, mortality, safety
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Northern Dragon 
Harnán has recently published a longer sequence of tweets on Twitter, advocating for what he calls a “stratified lock-down” in order to promote “herd immunity”.
I assume it is those tweets you are referring to here, Dual Visions?
The concept of “herd immunity” has never, as far as I know, been used in actual practice – as something which we try to consciously build or create. But we see the effect of it every year, when the common Flu comes round. And … old and elderly people still die.
It is no silver bullet.
And, as you point out, young people will likely die too, if we do this. Which makes it more than just a bit unpalatable – we would be trading economic hardship for actual lives. Who wants to do that??
However, I do think that your number – 8.25% – is misleading: the actual rate of death for young, healthy people is likely be to far below that.
But having said that – any number above 0% is really not acceptable, is it?
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Fine in theory but quite dangerous in practice. All these people have multiple contacts in the process of forming that mythical herd immunity. And did he factor in the virus’ possible mutation?
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