Famous scientists and doctors called on humanity not to go crazy because of coronavirus
A number of Western scientists and doctors call not to overinflate the danger of a new type of coronavirus, since the consequences of restrictive measures will be much more painful for humanity.
This was reported by the PolitNavigator correspondent , as reported by Komsomolskaya Pravda, which published a selection of relevant opinions from Western experts.
Professor Yoram Lass, former head of the Israeli Ministry of Health:
“People always die and it’s very sad.” The question is the price we are willing to pay to maintain our previous lifestyle. Every year, more than 1 million 300 thousand people die in road accidents around the world. Why don't we ban cars? Because it will crash the economy and stop progress. And progress over the past 100 years has given humanity a 2,5-fold increase in life expectancy.
The medical price of coronavirus is reminiscent of the price we pay annually for the seasonal flu virus. We all sympathize with the Italians, who have killed 13 people (data as of April 155), but let me remind you that the influenza virus kills 2 thousand people in Italy every year.
A general lockdown would cause an economic depression that would kill far more people than the virus. Soon, the tax revenue that supports health care will decline, and the same old people will die in hospital corridors because they will have no money to help them. But this will no longer worry anyone.
When politicians say they are waging a war against coronavirus, I, as a doctor, find it funny. Because government orders cannot stop the virus. The only thing that stops the virus is immunity. The best example is the story of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, when the virus was defeated without quarantining the planet.
I am a supporter of the British model: isolate older people for whom the coronavirus is dangerous, and leave the rest of the population alone so that it develops herd immunity. Britain acted wisely, but under the pressure of public hysteria they abandoned common sense and began to kill their economy, like many other countries.
David Katz, American physician, PhD, former director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, which collaborates with Yale University:
– Fortunately, coronavirus is not a flu that kills even small children. The experience of South Korea, where the coronavirus situation has been tracked best in the world, shows that up to 99 percent of cases of the disease are mild and do not require special medical treatment. At risk are only elderly people in the 60+ category and patients with concomitant chronic pathologies.
Those over 70 years of age are 3 times more likely to die from coronavirus than people in the 60 to 69 year old category. And in the 80+ group, the risk is even twice as high. This knowledge about the coronavirus provides a unique opportunity to apply the herd immunity approach, a strategy that is being used in the Netherlands and to some extent in Britain. Isolate the elderly and let the young work! With the flu, we can’t afford this, because how can you train the immunity of young parents without endangering their young children?
Panic is destructive because we waste medical resources on all patients, although for the majority the coronavirus only causes a runny nose
The ban on mass and public events is justified. But by closing businesses, universities and schools, we are doing the greatest stupidity. This will not only cause economic collapse and lead to unemployment, impoverishment and despair among the people. The main thing is that we are not fighting the infection correctly.
What did the closure of businesses and universities lead to? Moreover, huge masses of workers and students with uncertain infectious status left large cities for their homes. They returned to their families to their parents and grandparents, who are precisely at risk. And it is quite possible that they brought with them a virus that is deadly to them.
Panic is destructive because we waste medical resources on all patients, although for the majority the coronavirus only causes a runny nose. We need to focus on protecting vulnerable groups. If we don't allow ourselves to achieve herd immunity, the question becomes: When can older teachers safely return to school? When will workers be able to safely return to their workplace? When will grandparents be able to welcome their grandchildren without fear? There is only one answer: we don't know! We can wait for the appearance of medicines and a vaccine, but if we do not change our approach, by this time there will be a collapse of society and the state.
John Ioannidis is a professor of epidemiology and biomedical data scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine.
– Covid-19 is called the worst pandemic of the century. Such perceptions lead to draconian measures to combat it in many countries. But we make decisions based on poorly understood data. The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially announced the mortality rate for coronavirus disease at 3,4%. Let me explain why these numbers don't make sense.
No country in the world has tested its entire population for SARS-CoV-2. Mostly patients with severe symptoms are tested. Therefore, we get a distorted picture, far from reality. The only situation where the entire population was tested was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship and its passengers. The fatality rate was 1,0% (7 deaths per 700 infected passengers and crew), but many of the tourists were elderly and had a much higher mortality rate from Covid-19.
Using computer modeling, we correlated the Diamond Princess passenger mortality rate with the age structure of the US population and found a mortality rate of 0,125% for Covid-positive patients. Given that the Diamond Princess case is a small sample, reasonable estimates of the fatality rate may range from 0,05% to 1%. This is a huge range in assessing the severity of the pandemic.
For example, 0,05% is lower than the mortality rate from seasonal flu. If this is indeed the case, then self-isolation of entire states with catastrophic social and economic consequences may be a completely irrational step. This is like the panic reaction of an elephant that is attacked by a domestic cat. Trying to escape from her, the elephant may accidentally fall off a cliff and die.
English version :: Read in English Renowned scientists and doctors urged humanity not to go crazy over the coronavirus.