As Coronavirus Crisis Continues, New White House Advisor Pushes ‘Herd Immunity’

The world has been engulfed in a battle of epic proportions over the course of the last 9 months or so, as a viral pandemic continues to ebb and flow throughout the global population.

India appears to be the latest epicenter of the illness, although there is some confusion as to the state of affairs in the United States.  The CDC is no longer reporting the case numbers and death toll, with that information now being run through the White House first, leaving many to wonder precisely what sort of effect this has had on the process.

Now, a new advisor who is working with the White House is allegedly pushing for a controversial approach to battling the COVID-19 crisis.

One of President Donald Trump’s top medical advisers is urging the White House to embrace a controversial “herd immunity” strategy to combat the pandemic, which would entail allowing the coronavirus to spread through most of the population to quickly build resistance to the virus, while taking steps to protect those in nursing homes and other vulnerable populations, according to five people familiar with the discussions.

The administration has already begun to implement some policies along these lines, according to current and former officials as well as experts, particularly with regard to testing.

So, who is the adviser pushing the idea?

The approach’s chief proponent is Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist from Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, who joined the White House earlier this month as a pandemic adviser. He has advocated that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used to respond to the virus outbreak, according to these officials, which relies on lifting restrictions so the healthy can build up immunity to the disease rather than limiting social and business interactions to prevent the virus from spreading.

Sweden hasn’t exactly been successful, however, and even through the implementation of this “hands-off” approach they’ve failed to fully negate the economic impact of COVID-19.