Doc Rips White House Embrace of ‘Herd Immunity’ to CNN: ‘Another Word for Mass Murder’

Dr. William Haseltine didn’t mince words about the embrace of “herd immunity” as a solution to the coronavirus pandemic — by advisers to President Donald Trump — calling it “another word for mass murder.”

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, anchor John Berman brought Dr. Haseltine in to discuss the prospect of a “winter surge” of the coronavirus as the weather gets colder.

“No states in decline, professor, 50,000 cases reported in the last 24 hours, hospitalizations at a level we have not seen since the end of August,” Berman said. “We’ve been worried about this possible winter surge. It’s not even a month into fall and we’re seeing this alarming increase. So what does that tell you?”

“It tells us that we don’t have this pandemic, this epidemic under control,” Haseltine said, then volunteered “And I’m extremely concerned that the president is being advised by people who speak of herd immunity.”

“Herd immunity is another word for mass murder,” he continued. “That is exactly what it is. If you allow this virus to surprise as they are advocating, we are looking at two to six million Americans dead. Not just this year, but every year. The reason for that is that there is no such thing as herd immunity.”

“These viruses, coronaviruses, come back here after year and infect the very same people,” Haseltine explained. “We know that from very teals on detailed studies of the viruses, their cousins the coronaviruses that cause colds. Every year they come back and in fact the same people. The same virus. This is an unmitigated disaster for our country to have people at the highest levels of our government countermanding our best public health officials. We know this epidemic can be put under control, other countries have done it. We are doing the opposite.”

Haseltine was referring to a Monday White House press conference call in which actual senior White House officials spoke on the record but “on background,” meaning their names are known only to the people on the call, expressed support for a document that recommends herd immunity:

On a call convened Monday by the White House, two senior administration officials, both speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to give their names, cited an October 4 petition titled The Great Barrington Declaration, which argues against lockdowns and calls for a reopening of businesses and schools.

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

Trump himself has also alluded to herd immunity in the past, which he habitually calls “herd mentality.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.