The Misguided Quest for COVID Herd Immunity

We Want Them Infected Podcast

Dr. Jonathan Howard, in the absence of co-host Wendy Orent, explores the misconceptions and risky propositions around achieving herd immunity through natural COVID-19 infection. He references an article by Drs. de Souza and Dowdy from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, highlighting the true meaning of herd immunity and its relation to vaccination. Howard critiques various early claims and redefinitions of herd immunity during the pandemic, stressing the dangers of using children as 'human shields' in the quest for herd immunity. The episode underscores the importance of vaccination in preventing serious diseases like measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox, and debunks myths about natural immunity being beneficial for children.

List of Resources Mentioned

1. Article: "What is Herd Immunity and How Can We Achieve It with COVID-19" by Dr. de Souza and Dr. Dowdy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (April 16, 2021)
2. Article by John Ioannidis in Stat News (March 17, 2020)
3. CNBC Article: "Sweden resisted a lockdown. And its capital Stockholm is expected to reach herd immunity in weeks." (April 22, 2020)
4. Article by Dr. Vinay Prasad and Alison Crew (February 2022)
5. Article: "COVID-19 And children and university students" by Dr. John Ioannidis
6. Editorial in the BMJ discussing childhood vaccination and herd immunity
7. The Great Barrington Declaration

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