Lockdowns Are the 'Single Biggest Mistake in Public Health History': Stanford Medical Professor

Nick Marmalejo : Aug 27, 2021
LifeSiteNews.com

"What I do know is that if a government induces fear in a population, if a government formally locks down, that it will take much longer to get to that point where the disease is at a level where we can manage it without having to turn over all of society. If people are scared to interact with everybody else, it will take longer [to reach herd immunity], even if you don't have a policy." -Dr. Jay Bhattacharya

[LifeSiteNews.com] A Stanford University Medical School epidemiologist and public health expert reiterated in a recent interview his conviction that Covid lockdowns have been horrendous for public health and affirmed that they have killed more people than they have saved. (Image: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya /via LifeSiteNews)

"I say the lockdowns were the single biggest mistake in public health history. I still believe that. I don't see how anyone can look at lockdown and say there was successful policy," Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said.

"We have had lockdowns in country after country after country," he continued. "I don't think by any measure you can call them a success."

From the beginning of the pandemic, Bhattacharya has advocated for a public health action plan of "focused protection," a policy wherein creative measures are enacted by public servants to shield the most vulnerable from infection and the rest of society is allowed to carry on with regular life.

As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, Bhattacharya and numerous other medical professionals formally outlined this idea in the Great Barrington Declaration. In part, it reads: 

The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection. 

Regarding this approach, Bhattacharya said, "The idea was to give people resources to protect themselves as they saw fit, that they could make trade-offs in their lives based on what they valued." He added, "You have to think differently about what the goal is. If the goal is focused protection, then adopt a different set of policies than if the goal is testing, tracing, identifying, and quarantine."

Bhattacharya said that many in the medical and public health community have come to think erroneously about herd immunity, which was once identified as the goal for resolving the Covid pandemic.

"Herd immunity is not a synonym for zero Covid. It does not mean the disease has gone away. What it means is that the disease has become endemic," he said... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Continue reading, and watch the video interview here.