OPINION:
The point of comparison between the United States and apparently most of the rest of the world ought to be Sweden (“Big Europe has three times U.S. coronavirus deaths,” Web, April 12). It is rarely pointed out that the a national quarantine response has no scientific historical basis. Sweden did not go along with the rest of the world; it went the historical, scientific route, which has consisted of masks, social distancing, personal hygiene and quarantining only the most vulnerable, which is perceived to be the aged and sick.
So how will this work out? Will Sweden see a jolt in virus cases that it annot handle? Will it surpass every other country that took the politically convenient route, but may or may not prove to be more effective? If Sweden is correct, it will endure short-term mortality spikes and end up with herd immunity. Its economic damage will be minimal. The United States however, will not come out of this disaster with herd immunity. The only thing a quarantine does is temporarily slow the spread of a virus. Without spreading the virus in the supply of hosts you will never achieve herd immunity ,and the virus will persist in whatever mutated forms result.
The rough economic cost of the past six weeks approximately equals the annual health-care expenditure of $3.6 trillion. So to date we are on track to spend about $7.2 trillion on this virus, and we will not have herd immunity. If you think some magic vaccine is coming along to save you, think again. Anthony Fauci has been pursuing a SARS vaccine since 2003. That is 17 years. The odds are that there is no magic pill here, and nature will dictate where this virus ends up. Sweden accepted reality, but the United States remains in fantasyland.
SAMUEL BURKEEN
Reston, Va.
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