Itâs a given the positivity rate will rise if they are only sending people who are displaying symptoms (instead of testing the 30 close contacts of one person with symptoms).
I donât think many aspects of the Great Barrington Declaration are realistic and given where we are with the vaccine now (it wasnât when they made it), undesirable. The idea that we can put workers who have antibodies into nursing homes and lock them away for two months is an experiment is not palatable to western societies. The additional challenge of intergenerational homes they also have not answered convincing (IMO).
But we are living in prolonged chaos through rolling lockdowns, that is undeniable. You point to 2/3 months of economics without looking at the big picture. The longer term picture in Ireland was a budget deficit greater than our EU colleagues, to pay for lockdowns. And what has come at the end of these restrictions, a third lockdown. And more chaos in our hospitals. The strongest point that the GB people have is that in actual fact, continued lockdowns put the most at risk at greater risk. Rather than having one window of significant exposure where the State throws the kitchen sink at protection, you have multiple windows. The GB crowd actually confront reality, risk and trade offs - unlike those who like to pretend that all lockdowns are effective and virtuous.
If you are advocating Zero Covid, then go right ahead. Pretending a land border with thousands of daily crossings doesnât exist, that we donât have roll on/roll off trucking etc. has just as many holes in it.
Neither @Malarkey nor @EstebanSexface have the slightest clue what immunity is, how immunity is built and compromised, what herd immunity is, or how a vaccine works.
Godspeed, Bod95. Mick Martin was on the radio at lunchtime and Iâm sure youâll have been glad to hear that his âoverarching agendaâ is to keep people safe.
I didnât say that Herd Immunity wasnât a goer. Point me to where I did? I said their strategy wasnât full proof at the time it came back. I think greater consideration of it would have to be made if we didnât have a vaccine right now, as we would be stuck in the âchaosâ of endless, prolonged lockdowns. Given we have vaccines, I donât see it as a desirable course of action now.
How is that difficult?
The praise I give them is because it does actually confront the reality. Zero Covid would not work in Europe and without a vaccine, would not have worked in Australia and New Zealand without walking themselves off from the world for years and years.
Zero Covid and lockdown enthusiasts like to paint the likes of the GB declaration as uncaring. They simply have a different approach, they donât bury their heads in the sand about trade offs though.
Herd Immunity is surely the only possible way out of this mess? I just wish a proper plan which results in that endgame could be properly relayed to Joe public.
If it was in concrete that 24 months of intermittent lockdowns to ease Health Services being overwhelmed was needed to let population safely reach a sustainable Immunity level.
All of the above in addition to a realistic vaccine rollout would be great.
The current backlog of unreported case numbers will mean weâll have higher daily case numbers announced for the rest of the week, but there is a slight hope itâs stabilising and the effects of the closing hospitality will start to kick in.
