Charles Gallagher: Let's follow Sweden as a path to herd immunity from virus

To The Daily Sun,

We continue to learn new facts about Covid-19 daily as the pandemic ages. Some of us have been watching what is happening in Sweden. Sweden has chosen a different mitigation path from the US, UK, France, Italy and myriad other nations which have employed a lockdown strategy. The Swedes have chosen to seek herd immunity as there is no vaccine, or any on the horizon, likely for many months, if ever.

So what is herd immunity? Well it’s a strategy where the general population is exposed to the offending virus and via infection builds a population that is immune by antibody to its predation. The Swedes have chosen to shelter the elderly and immune challenged, but have otherwise allowed the virus to spread through the population. One would wonder why that may prove to be a very wise tactic to weaken the effects of the disease?

Well, we know a lot about Covid-19 that we didn’t know before. Accordingly, we now understand that the young are relatively impervious to the dramatic consequences of the disease we see in immune compromised populations. Many younger people get the disease but are asymptomatic or develop symptoms that are mild or mistaken for the common cold. As they recover they are very likely immune to further infection. We know this is probable as a leading Swedish immunologist, Johan Giesecke, who has studied coronaviruses, says other coronavirus immunity is long term, so he intelligently speculates this Covid-19 virus is unlikely to reinfect.

Dr. Giesecke also disputes that there are proven cases of reinfection. So as the general population of Sweden gets the virus, it becomes increasingly immune over time which leaves the virus with fewer and fewer hosts in which it may live and replicate. That is important because doctors believe there is likely to be a second wave of disease come the onset of colder temperatures in the fall. However, with herd immunity built into their population the Swedes are far less likely to have an epidemic second infection.

Contrast the Swedish approach to our own, or that of most of Western Europe, where lockdown has been employed. Lockdown means many people who could be part of the herd immune have not been exposed and are therefore, subject to infection and further transmission to others. In Stockholm, Swedes believe that herd infection will pass 50 percent of the local population by the end of May. That leaves the Covid-19 with fewer hosts to keep it alive so that it can replicate and spread further, the natural disposition of living viruses.

Sweden has not sacrificed its economy and put 14 percent of its workforce into forced idleness as we have. In our country, we have governors who want to stay locked down until a vaccine is in place. Wealthy individuals and companies benefit financially if there is vaccine mitigation. Sweden shows there is probably another way to fight back.

Reason herd interest versus financial interest, New Hampsherites.

Charles Gallagher

Gilford