One million people die to live 70 million .. herd immunity Britain's way to confront Corona

Dr.. Osama Abu Al-Rub

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made statements telling people that many families would lose loved ones with the emerging Corona virus (Covid-19), and the British government's scientific advisor spoke of herd immunity, which required 60% of the British people to become ill. Is the British medical treatment mechanism based on the sacrifice of a million people for the rest of the people to live?

The story began on Thursday, when Boris Johnson shocked his fellow citizens, saying that families should prepare to lose loved ones because the Coruna virus would continue to spread in the country over the coming months, claiming more lives.

"I will be frank with you, and with all the British people, many, many, many families who will lose their loved ones before their time comes," Johnson added.

A day later, on Friday, the British government's chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Valance, stated that the wider the epidemic, the wider national immunity for generations, despite the loss of life that may accompany it.

Valance hinted that the Corona virus could be left infected in about forty million UK residents, or 60% of the population, to reach "herd immunity", a theory known to confront any virus with the same virus: "Daoha which is the disease."

What is the herd immunity?
The human body fights infectious diseases through the immune system. When the immune system is exposed to a new enemy - a virus, for example - it deals with it, and if a person lives and recovers, the immune system develops a memory for this invader, so that if it is exposed to the virus in the future, it can fight it easily.

This is how vaccines work, which creates a memory for the disease without the body actually getting sick, as the vaccine is made up of dead or weak viruses, but it is sufficient to form memory in the immune system, without the body contracting the disease.

Herd immunity says the following: If you have a new disease such as Covid-19, and it does not have a vaccine, then it will spread among the population, but if enough people develop an immune memory, the disease will stop spreading, even if not all of the population has developed an immune memory.

The problem is that applying herd immunity to the Corona virus in the UK requires that a large proportion of the population between 60 and 70% be infected and recover from the disease; this means that more than 47 million people in the UK are infected.

And with current statistics saying that the coronavirus mortality rate is 2.3%, and that the proportion of people who develop the disease to a dangerous stage is 19%, this means that in the United Kingdom and to reach the herd immunity more than one million people will die of coronavirus, with eight million other infections that require The patient undergoes intensive care because his health condition will be dangerous and critical.

Criticism
Valence's remarks were met with sharp criticism, as WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris questioned the feasibility of Britain's strategy to counter the spread of the Corona virus, which is based on "herd immunity".

Harris explained that there is not enough scientific knowledge of the Corona virus, because it is novel and not yet known how it interacts immunologically, indicating that each virus has a different way of dealing with the immunity that develops to counter it.

She called on Harris to focus on deeds rather than theories in facing the current situation.

In an open letter, a group of 229 UK university scientists said that the government's current approach would put national health services under additional pressure and risk too many lives.

The scientists also criticized Sir Valence's statements regarding dealing with the spread of Corona infection to make the population immune.

The scientists said that stronger social measures (such as banning gatherings and quarantine, disrupting schools and universities, and working from home) would greatly slow the spread of the disease in the UK, and would save thousands of lives.

The scientific group said that "the current measures are insufficient, additional and more restrictive measures must be taken immediately," as happens in other countries.

But a spokesman for the British Ministry of Health and Welfare said that Sir Valence's comments were misinterpreted, and said, "Herd immunity is not part of our business plan, but rather a byproduct of a natural pandemic."

The UK’s approach to dealing with the coronavirus is contradictory to other countries, as France, Spain, and Italy imposed measures to restrict the movement of tens of millions, and Australia ordered all foreigners arriving in the country to adhere to self-isolation, while Argentina and El Salvador expanded the ban on entering their territories as part of global efforts to contain Corona epidemic.

A number of countries imposed a ban on large gatherings, and stopped sports, cultural and religious activities, while medical experts urged people to adhere to "social estrangement" to limit the spread of the virus.

The British government plans to enact emergency laws to ban public gatherings in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, in an escalation of the crisis plan that critics say is too slow.

Boris Johnson has so far resisted pressure to apply some stringent measures applied in other European countries to slow the spread of the virus.

On Friday, all Premier League matches are suspended until April 4, while organizers have postponed other sporting events such as the London Marathon.