SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Dr. Scott Atlas, senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, arrives before President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on August 13, 2020. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
A top White House coronavirus adviser brought on earlier this month despite his lack of expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology is reportedly pushing the Trump administration to adopt a so-called "herd immunity" strategy to the pandemic that public health experts warn could kill millions of Americans and infect hundreds of millions more.
"Something so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans."
--journalist Chris Hayes
The Washington Post reported Monday that Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist from the right-wing Hoover Institution, caught President Donald Trump's attention "with a spate of Fox News appearances in recent months" in which he downplayed the severity of Covid-19 and questioned the need for lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Atlas--who one commentator described as the "anti-Fauci," referring to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci--has "advocated that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used to respond to the virus outbreak... 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," according to the Post.
Sweden's decision to forego strict lockdowns in favor of more relaxed social distancing guidelines has been criticized by public health experts as a reckless approach to the pandemic that contributed to the country's high death rate compared to other European nations. Pursuing a similar strategy in the U.S., a country with a population of 328 million, would be catastrophic, experts warned.
\u201cThis is incredibly dangerous. Remember, @SWAtlasHoover is a NeuroRadiologist and Hoover Institute conservative thinktank member. He likely has not had direct patient care in decades, and he has no advanced training in public health, epidemiology, virology of infectious diseases.\u201d— Dr. Rob Davidson (@Dr. Rob Davidson) 1598879889
Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, tweeted Monday that to achieve "herd immunity" without a vaccine, "about 250 million Americans would contract the virus and 1.5-2 million would die."
A Post analysis found that 2.13 million deaths may be required to "reach a 65 percent threshold of herd immunity, assuming the virus has a one percent fatality rate."
Yale University epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves said "no one in public health" thinks highly of Atlas' approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than six million people in the U.S. and killed at least 182,000--the highest death toll in the world.
"It's not edgy, contrarian," Gonsalves said of Atlas' thinking. "It's dangerous and terrifying."
\u201cSomething so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans.\n\nhttps://t.co/YMd7A5UdQ3\u201d— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1598880241
Senior Trump administration officials told the Post that despite warnings from medical experts, the White House has already moved to implement "some policies" in line with Atlas' proposed strategy, "particularly with regard to testing."
"The Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, invoked the Defense Production Act earlier this month to expedite the shipment of tests to nursing homes--but the administration has not significantly ramped up spending on testing elsewhere, despite persistent shortages," the Post reported. "Trump and top White House aides, including Atlas, have also repeatedly pushed to reopen schools and lift lockdown orders, despite outbreaks in several schools that attempted to resume in-person classes."
Last week, as Common Dreams reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly issued new guidance that no longer recommends Covid-19 tests for everyone who has been potentially been exposed to the virus--a change that was reportedly directed by the highest levels of the Trump administration.
Fauci, who said he was in surgery and under general anesthesia when the new CDC guidance was discussed, warned the latest recommendations "will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern."
"In fact," said Fauci, "it is."
Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, told the Post that he believes Atlas "was basically recruited to crowd out Tony Fauci and the voice of reason."
"Not only do we not embrace the science, but we repudiate the science by our president, and that has extended by bringing in another unreliable misinformation vector," said Topol.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A top White House coronavirus adviser brought on earlier this month despite his lack of expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology is reportedly pushing the Trump administration to adopt a so-called "herd immunity" strategy to the pandemic that public health experts warn could kill millions of Americans and infect hundreds of millions more.
"Something so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans."
--journalist Chris Hayes
The Washington Post reported Monday that Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist from the right-wing Hoover Institution, caught President Donald Trump's attention "with a spate of Fox News appearances in recent months" in which he downplayed the severity of Covid-19 and questioned the need for lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Atlas--who one commentator described as the "anti-Fauci," referring to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci--has "advocated that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used to respond to the virus outbreak... 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," according to the Post.
Sweden's decision to forego strict lockdowns in favor of more relaxed social distancing guidelines has been criticized by public health experts as a reckless approach to the pandemic that contributed to the country's high death rate compared to other European nations. Pursuing a similar strategy in the U.S., a country with a population of 328 million, would be catastrophic, experts warned.
\u201cThis is incredibly dangerous. Remember, @SWAtlasHoover is a NeuroRadiologist and Hoover Institute conservative thinktank member. He likely has not had direct patient care in decades, and he has no advanced training in public health, epidemiology, virology of infectious diseases.\u201d— Dr. Rob Davidson (@Dr. Rob Davidson) 1598879889
Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, tweeted Monday that to achieve "herd immunity" without a vaccine, "about 250 million Americans would contract the virus and 1.5-2 million would die."
A Post analysis found that 2.13 million deaths may be required to "reach a 65 percent threshold of herd immunity, assuming the virus has a one percent fatality rate."
Yale University epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves said "no one in public health" thinks highly of Atlas' approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than six million people in the U.S. and killed at least 182,000--the highest death toll in the world.
"It's not edgy, contrarian," Gonsalves said of Atlas' thinking. "It's dangerous and terrifying."
\u201cSomething so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans.\n\nhttps://t.co/YMd7A5UdQ3\u201d— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1598880241
Senior Trump administration officials told the Post that despite warnings from medical experts, the White House has already moved to implement "some policies" in line with Atlas' proposed strategy, "particularly with regard to testing."
"The Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, invoked the Defense Production Act earlier this month to expedite the shipment of tests to nursing homes--but the administration has not significantly ramped up spending on testing elsewhere, despite persistent shortages," the Post reported. "Trump and top White House aides, including Atlas, have also repeatedly pushed to reopen schools and lift lockdown orders, despite outbreaks in several schools that attempted to resume in-person classes."
Last week, as Common Dreams reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly issued new guidance that no longer recommends Covid-19 tests for everyone who has been potentially been exposed to the virus--a change that was reportedly directed by the highest levels of the Trump administration.
Fauci, who said he was in surgery and under general anesthesia when the new CDC guidance was discussed, warned the latest recommendations "will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern."
"In fact," said Fauci, "it is."
Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, told the Post that he believes Atlas "was basically recruited to crowd out Tony Fauci and the voice of reason."
"Not only do we not embrace the science, but we repudiate the science by our president, and that has extended by bringing in another unreliable misinformation vector," said Topol.
A top White House coronavirus adviser brought on earlier this month despite his lack of expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology is reportedly pushing the Trump administration to adopt a so-called "herd immunity" strategy to the pandemic that public health experts warn could kill millions of Americans and infect hundreds of millions more.
"Something so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans."
--journalist Chris Hayes
The Washington Post reported Monday that Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist from the right-wing Hoover Institution, caught President Donald Trump's attention "with a spate of Fox News appearances in recent months" in which he downplayed the severity of Covid-19 and questioned the need for lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Atlas--who one commentator described as the "anti-Fauci," referring to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci--has "advocated that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used to respond to the virus outbreak... 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," according to the Post.
Sweden's decision to forego strict lockdowns in favor of more relaxed social distancing guidelines has been criticized by public health experts as a reckless approach to the pandemic that contributed to the country's high death rate compared to other European nations. Pursuing a similar strategy in the U.S., a country with a population of 328 million, would be catastrophic, experts warned.
\u201cThis is incredibly dangerous. Remember, @SWAtlasHoover is a NeuroRadiologist and Hoover Institute conservative thinktank member. He likely has not had direct patient care in decades, and he has no advanced training in public health, epidemiology, virology of infectious diseases.\u201d— Dr. Rob Davidson (@Dr. Rob Davidson) 1598879889
Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, tweeted Monday that to achieve "herd immunity" without a vaccine, "about 250 million Americans would contract the virus and 1.5-2 million would die."
A Post analysis found that 2.13 million deaths may be required to "reach a 65 percent threshold of herd immunity, assuming the virus has a one percent fatality rate."
Yale University epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves said "no one in public health" thinks highly of Atlas' approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than six million people in the U.S. and killed at least 182,000--the highest death toll in the world.
"It's not edgy, contrarian," Gonsalves said of Atlas' thinking. "It's dangerous and terrifying."
\u201cSomething so jarring about reading the cadences of normal newspaper copy about a WH adviser who has a plan to kill 2 million Americans.\n\nhttps://t.co/YMd7A5UdQ3\u201d— Chris Hayes (@Chris Hayes) 1598880241
Senior Trump administration officials told the Post that despite warnings from medical experts, the White House has already moved to implement "some policies" in line with Atlas' proposed strategy, "particularly with regard to testing."
"The Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, invoked the Defense Production Act earlier this month to expedite the shipment of tests to nursing homes--but the administration has not significantly ramped up spending on testing elsewhere, despite persistent shortages," the Post reported. "Trump and top White House aides, including Atlas, have also repeatedly pushed to reopen schools and lift lockdown orders, despite outbreaks in several schools that attempted to resume in-person classes."
Last week, as Common Dreams reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly issued new guidance that no longer recommends Covid-19 tests for everyone who has been potentially been exposed to the virus--a change that was reportedly directed by the highest levels of the Trump administration.
Fauci, who said he was in surgery and under general anesthesia when the new CDC guidance was discussed, warned the latest recommendations "will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern."
"In fact," said Fauci, "it is."
Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, told the Post that he believes Atlas "was basically recruited to crowd out Tony Fauci and the voice of reason."
"Not only do we not embrace the science, but we repudiate the science by our president, and that has extended by bringing in another unreliable misinformation vector," said Topol.