![]() ![]() In a statement to The Daily, Atlas wrote that he “never advocated or recommended to the President or the Coronavirus Task Force a policy of herd immunity.” While it is true that the likelihood of virus transmission decreases when people have had prior infection, “it has been projected that the percent of the population that would need to have antibodies to create some degree of protection against COVID-19 is 60 to 65%,” which would cause a significant number of deaths according to Pizzo. Philip Pizzo, professor of pediatrics infectious disease and of microbiology and immunology, former dean of the School of Medicine and one of the letter’s signatories, told The Daily that “sheltering in place and social distancing measures are estimated to have reduced the number of people who may have gotten infected to approximately 5 to 10%.” Research published in August indicates that individuals infected with COVID-19 may be at risk of being re-infected since immunity may only last several months, which would make herd immunity impossible to achieve.ĭr. The authors added that the “safest path” to herd immunity is through the use of effective vaccines. In their open letter, Stanford affiliates wrote that “encouraging herd immunity through unchecked community transmission is not a safe public health strategy” and that it “would do the opposite, causing a significant increase in preventable cases, suffering and deaths, especially among vulnerable populations, such as older individuals and essential workers.” In a July Fox News Radio interview, Atlas said that “low-risk groups getting the infection is not a problem. While Atlas denies he suggested a herd immunity policy to the president, he has repeatedly advanced the herd immunity strategy as one of the best ways to “eradicate the threat of the virus” in Hoover Institution virtual policy briefings, in an April op-ed published in The Hill and in his May comments to a United States Senate committee. This would accelerate the reopening of businesses and the economy since the vast majority of the population would not need to isolate or practice social distancing measures. The herd immunity strategy Atlas has previously proposed would allow for transmission of the coronavirus in order to build a certain level of immunity in the population while keeping vulnerable populations isolated. Stanford Medicine spokesperson Julie Greicius told The Daily that Atlas “has no current affiliation with Stanford Medicine” and that “we … strongly support the freedom of our Stanford Medicine faculty to voice their position based on their expertise.” The University and the Hoover Institution declined to comment on Atlas’ views or role in the White House. ![]() The authors cited the Hippocratic Oath and their “moral and ethical responsibility” to speak out. More than 100 Stanford affiliates in areas such as epidemiology, infectious disease, immunology and health policy condemned the “falsehoods and misrepresentations of science recently fostered by Dr. He drew sharp criticism after the Washington Post reported that he advocated for a herd immunity strategy to accelerate reopening, although Atlas denies proposing a herd immunity policy to the president or the task force. ![]() Scott Atlas’ controversial views on the COVID-19 pandemic, countering his stances with a list of statements on COVID-19 infection and mitigation supported by a “preponderance of data.”Ītlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford Medical Center, was named senior advisor to President Trump and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in August. Stanford physicians and researchers published an open letter to the Stanford University School of Medicine faculty on Wednesday that criticized Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Dr.
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