Scientists Craft Herd Immunity Plan to Reopen Society; Others Say It's Too Risky

A trio of epidemiologists released a public letter last week rebuking the lockdown-focused approach to combating COVID-19. Their alternative: a model called Focused Protection, outlined in their Great Barrington Declaration, which would reopen society and allow young people to live their lives normally while implementing safeguards for the elderly.

Reactions were predictably polarized, as coronavirus proposals have tended to be. It's been hailed as the "best advice" and condemned as "grotesque." So who's right?

Let's start with the gist of the declaration: "Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on...

White House officials have promoted a declaration supporting herd immunity that has reportedly been signed by fake names, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

In a Monday phone call, White House officials cited the Great Barrington Declaration, which argues that the government should push for herd immunity with more infections among the healthy population, according to two senior administration officials.

Supporters of the declaration use it to argue against lockdowns and more reopenings during the pandemic.

“Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” the...