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Is herd immunity the best way to beat coronavirus? Is herd immunity the best way to beat coronavirus?
Herd immunity is our best defence against the spread of coronavirus Herd immunity is our best defence against the spread of coronavirus
Herd immunity will not work Herd immunity will not work
Herd immunity is a risky bet Herd immunity is a risky bet
Herd immunity is irrelevant Herd immunity is irrelevant
Herd immunity has worked to stop viruses before Herd immunity has worked to stop viruses before
Herd immunity will not work because you can get coronavirus twice Herd immunity will not work because you can get coronavirus twice
The effects of covid are likely to be worse second time around The effects of covid are likely to be worse second time around
To achieve this would cause an impermissible death rate To achieve this would cause an impermissible death rate
Herd immunity is risky because some people will die of coronavirus Herd immunity is risky because some people will die of coronavirus
Herd immunity is risky because the virus could mutate Herd immunity is risky because the virus could mutate
Herd immunity should not be a strategy when there is no vaccine Herd immunity should not be a strategy when there is no vaccine
Questioning the merits of herd immunity is, in itself, a misnomer Questioning the merits of herd immunity is, in itself, a misnomer
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Is herd immunity the best way to beat coronavirus?
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Herd immunity will not work

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Herd immunity will not work because you can get coronavirus twice

Because there is no evidence that proves that people gain antibodies after being infected by the coronavirus, being infected with it twice is a possibility.
skynews Claire Gillespie
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The Argument

There have been some cases where people have caught coronavirus twice. Usually, patients are tested twice within a 24-hour period to see if there are still signs of the virus in their body.[1] In others, patients who were released after recovering from the virus returned to the hospital with the virus again. If certain people can catch coronavirus twice, it could suggest that immunity against the virus doesn’t exist.[2] Therefore, herd immunity would not be an available option to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Counter arguments

The cases of people who have caught the coronavirus twice has not been proven. According to the CDC located in South Korea, the reason why the tests come out as positive is because there are weakened amounts of the virus still present in the body, creating false positives.[3] Unless the coronavirus started mutating, there would be no threat of catching it a second time.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Patients are tested for the virus before they are released from the hospital. [P2] There have been cases where people have come back to the hospital because they caught the virus again. [P3] There is no chance immunity against the coronavirus.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The cases where people have caught the coronavirus twice have not been proven as being a threat to stopping the spread of the virus.

References

  1. https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/can-you-get-coronavirus-twice
  2. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8231669/There-no-evidence-people-survived-coronavirus-immunity-warns.html
  3. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-scientists-conclude-people-cannot-be-infected-twice-11981721
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 15 Sep 2020 at 07:53 UTC

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