CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 

Wall Street heavyweights profited as the market melted down in February after getting private warnings from the Trump administration, a new report says  

Wall Street investors knew of private concern about the coronavirus within the Trump administration and used the knowledge to position for the following market plunge, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

A memo from the hedge-fund consultant William Callanan described White House officials' wariness, expressed in meetings in late February, about a US outbreak. Meanwhile, the officials publicly allayed concerns about the coronavirus.

Callanan sent the note to David Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa Management, on February 26. The memo spread throughout the firm and to investors at other offices.

Some recipients adjusted their portfolios accordingly, viewing the US officials' private statements as a warning of devastation to come, The Times reported. 

 

The S&P 500 plummeted 4.4% on February 27, and by March 23 it sat roughly 25% lower than the day Tepper received the memo.

A February memo shared among Wall Street's elite detailed the Trump administration's private concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Some heeded the warning and cashed out on bearish positions when markets tanked later that month, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

On February 24, senior members of President Donald Trump's economic team privately spoke with board members of the Hoover Institution, a research organization at Stanford University, about the risks of a domestic outbreak. One advisor said the White House couldn't yet estimate the effects on the US economy, suggesting to some that the coronavirus could cause significant harm, the report said.

But administration officials publicly allayed fears that the virus would slam the US. The next day, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said the nation was "pretty close to airtight," despite privately telling the Hoover board that "we just don't know" how contained the virus was, The Times said.

William Callanan, a hedge-fund consultant and member of the Hoover board, wrote in a memo at the time that almost every administration official addressed the virus "as a point of concern, totally unprovoked," according to The Times.

The memo quickly spread throughout the hedge-fund industry just as markets began to grapple with the prospect of a US outbreak.

On February 25, Callanan emailed David Tepper, the Appaloosa Management founder, about the Hoover meetings, highlighting the wariness expressed by the administration officials.

In an interview with CNBC on February 1, Tepper had told investors to be "cautious" until more was known about the virus. Callanan's memo reinforced his bearish stance.

The email spread through Appaloosa and, eventually, to investors outside the firm. Over the next day, at least seven investors across four money-management offices received elements of Callanan's memo, The Times reported.

Many of the investors, equipped with knowledge of the Hoover meetings, adjusted their portfolios accordingly. One told The Times that their reaction was to "short everything," while another said they added to their existing short bets. Some said they even bought up essential goods like toilet paper, reading the memo as a preview of nationwide devastation to come.

The bearish adjustments likely paid off big. The S&P 500 plunged about 4.4% on February 27, the day after the Hoover memo spread from Appaloosa to other investing firms. By the time the benchmark stock index bottomed on March 23, it sat roughly 25% lower from its level on February 27.

Tepper initially denied receiving the memo before telling The Times that while he likely got it, he didn't pay it much attention.

"We were in the information flow on COVID at that point," Tepper said. "Because we were so public about this warning, people were calling us at this time."

He added that Appaloosa held a bearish position on February 23, days before he received Callanan's email.

Thousands of indigenous people march to end Colombian violence
AFP 3 days ago

Thousands of indigenous people demonstrated in southwestern Colombia on Monday demanding an end to violence, on the day commemorating Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

© Luis ROBAYO Colombian indigenous people are heading to Cali in the southwest in the hope of meeting President Ivan Duque to demand concrete action on ending violence

Clashes also broke out between police and protesters in Chile as hundreds demonstrated in favor of the Mapuche indigenous people on the day known in many countries in the region as the 'Day of the Race.'

Dressed in green and red and carrying traditional sticks, the demonstrators converged on the city of Cali where they hope to meet President Ivan Duque.

"The main reason we're marching is the systematic massacres happening in our territories without the government taking any interest," said Franky Reinosa of the Regional Indigenous Council in the western state of Caldas.

The demonstrators are demanding they be consulted on major development projects and for the full implementation of the historic 2016 peace plan that ended a half century of armed resistance by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

Interior Minister Alicia Arango said on Twitter a government delegation was traveling to Cali to meet the protesters.

The demonstration coincides with the commemoration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492.

While the occasion was originally intended to mark the beginning of Hispanic influence in the Americas, for many people in Latin America it is seen as an opportunity to celebrate native cultures and their resistence to European colonialism.


"For us (that) was the greatest ethnocide in the history of our territories," said Reinosa.

The southwest of Colombia that borders Ecuador and the Pacific has a large indigenous population and is one of the worst affected areas by a wave of violence that has resulted in at least 42 massacres this year, according to the United Nations.

Despite the 2016 peace accord, dozens of armed groups remain active in Colombia fighting over the lucrative drug-trafficking trade.

Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine.

Representing 4.4 percent of Colombia's 50 million population, indigenous people have been fighting for territorial rights for decades, using methods such as road blocks to gain attention.

In Chile's capital Santiago, hundreds of people, including other indigenous tribes, converged on a central square for a demonstration dubbed "Mapuche Resistence."

Clashes broke out with police as some people wearing hoods smashed bus stops and road signs and threw stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

The Mapuche are the largest indigenous group in Chile and have a long-running dispute with the state.

They are demanding the return of ancestral lands in the country's south, much of which has been allocated to private logging companies.

The disturbances came less than two weeks before a landmark referendum on changing Chile's dictatorship era constitution.

dl/lda/bc/jh

'I want freedom': Thais mass to defy protest ban

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

© Reuters/CHALINEE THIRASUPA FILE PHOTO: Pro-democracy protesters show the three-finger salute as they gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters) - From shops, offices and schools they spilled onto a Bangkok street in their tens of thousands, voicing shock and anger and above all defiance.

Thailand's government had announced emergency measures to ban gatherings of five or more people to try to end three months of protests. The response was one of the biggest demonstrations so far, in the heart of the capital.  

© Reuters/JORGE SILVA FILE PHOTO: A pro-democracy protester stands in front of police officers during anti-government protests in Bangkok

"I'm not afraid. Emergency or not, I have no freedom," said 26-year-old illustrator Thanatpohn Dejkunchorn, who left work early to attend the protest with friends. "I want freedom to exist in this country. I want it to be free from this vicious cycle."  

© Reuters/JORGE SILVA Pro-democracy protesters gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

Protests have built since mid-July in the biggest challenge in years to the political establishment - seeking the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

"We have to create understanding with the protesters," government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri told Reuters, complaining that protest leaders were not giving protesters "complete information."

© Reuters/CHALINEE THIRASUPA Police officers with riot shields take position during a gathering of pro-democracy protesters who demand the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok

Police said they would arrest all protesters, though they did not explain how they would charge tens of thousands of people.

The Royal Palace has declined all comment on the protesters or their demands.

Until Wednesday, the government had largely allowed demonstrations to happen, while making no sign of meeting protesters' demands.

But that changed after an incident in which protesters jeered Queen Suthida's motorcade as she and the king were paying a rare visit from Europe, where they spend most of their time.

The government cited that as well as the risks to national security and the economy from protests and the danger of spreading coronavirus as reasons for imposing emergency measures.

The government then launched a crackdown, sweeping away a camp set up outside Prayuth's office and arresting three protest leaders - among around 40 arrests in the past week.

"EXCESSIVE AND UNNECESSARY POWER"

"It's obvious that the state wants to exercise excessive and unnecessary power on people," said 22-year-old student Pattanun Arunpreechawat, who joined Thursday's protest after studies.

Protesters want to oust Prayuth, who first took power in a 2014 coup, saying he engineered election rules last year to keep his position - an accusation he denies. Breaking a longstanding taboo, protesters have also challenged the monarchy - saying it has helped entrench decades of military influence.

They gathered in the shadow of upmarket shopping malls and shiny tower blocks that are home to multinationals and other businesses in Southeast Asia's second biggest economy.

But the Ratchaprasong Intersection also has a historic resonance for protesters. In 2010, it was the scene of bloodshed as security forces cracked down on Red Shirts who battled pro-establishment Yellow Shirts during a decade of turmoil.

"I'm not afraid. I've been chased by guns," said beef noodle seller Thawat Kijkunasatien, 57, a veteran of the bloody crackdown a decade ago and another in 1992.

"Wherever the kids go, I go," he said at the protest while sipping a can of beer.

One characteristic of the latest Thai protests has been the extent to which they are led by students and other young people. Most protest leaders are in their 20s, but an even younger generation is following.

From giving the three-finger salute of protest when the national anthem plays at school to tying white ribbons in their hair and on school bags as symbols of protest, high school students have rallied to the campaign.

Many left school to join Thursday's protest - among them 18-year-old Tan, who came along after finishing school exams. He declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

"I make sure I’m prepared for exams before I go to protests. I have to give importance to both things," he said. "We can’t let it go on like this, or it will never end."

(Additional reporting by Matthew Tostevin and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Toby Chopra)

GREEN CAPITALI$M

$5 trillion investor group sets tougher portfolio carbon targets

 

© Reuters/Nguyen Huy Kham FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from the chimney of a paper factory outside Hanoi

LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty of the world's largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.

All members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group which includes the biggest U.S. pension scheme CalPERs and German insurer Allianz, are aiming to align their portfolios with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The move is the most ambitious yet by the influential group, whose members own sizeable stakes in many of the world's top companies, and comes as pressure builds for asset owners to use their financial muscle to push for quicker change.

While an increasing number of investors, companies and governments are committing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, some have been criticised for not setting the clear nearer-term targets needed to ensure the goal is met.

With policymakers gearing up for the next round of global climate talks in Scotland next year, the group's move is likely to act as a challenge for other leading investors to step up their own efforts.

The group said its members would implement cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from their portfolios of between 16% and 29%, with each confirming their own particular target in the first quarter of 2021.

The plan, called the 2025 Target Setting Protocol, should help increase investment in those companies contributing to the transition to a low-carbon economy and influence both markets and government policies, the group said in a statement.

Specifically, the group said it would send a message to the thousands of companies owned by the investors that "deep emissions cuts are required", and that the group would work with boards willing to adjust their business models.

The Protocol has been made available for comment by the public, academics, government and business until Nov. 13.

"Reaching net-zero is not simply reducing emissions and carrying on with the business models of today," said Günther Thallinger, Alliance Chair and Member of the Board of Management, Allianz SE.

"There are profound changes and opportunities that will come from the net-zero economy, we see new business opportunities and strong wins for those who are ready to lead," he added.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

CANADA

Striking N.L. Dominion workers spend Thanksgiving on the picket line

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Parking lots at Dominion grocery stores in Newfoundland and Labrador were unusually deserted heading into Thanksgiving, except for a few striking employees holding their mittened hands over burn barrels.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Eleven Dominion stores across the province have been closed since late August, when more than 1,400 workers went on strike to demand better wages and more full-time positions.

The employees represented by Unifor have rejected a contract offer from Loblaw Companies Ltd., Dominion’s parent company, that included a pay raise of $1 an hour over the next three years.

In interviews with The Canadian Press over the holiday weekend, Dominion workers said they’re fighting not only for themselves, but for retail workers across the country.

The vote to strike came after Loblaws, Sobeys and other major grocery store chains eliminated a $2-an-hour pay increase offered during the height of the pandemic.

Danni Singleton, who's worked at Dominion in St. John’s for eight years, said the extra $2 an hour made a real difference.

“It was not having to worry about, ‘Oh jeez, can I pay my rent and my phone bill this month?” Singleton said.

Singleton said it’s been “tiring and stressful” being on the picket line for so long, and a lot of her co-workers with families are struggling to get by.

Paula Hennebury, who’s worked at Dominion for 25 years, said she also misses the customers.

“It’s a little sad that we’re not seeing our regular people. You get to know them as family,” said

“But we do get to see them here, they stop by and say hello. It’s a sad time of the year to be out, but we’re strong, we’re going to keep going as long as we have to.”

Hennebury said it's not always easy to hold the line, especially as the weather turns cold.

“We’re pushing through it. We could be inside doing what we love to do, but we gotta fight for the future of everybody else,” she said.

Singleton agrees with her colleague that it’s tough to be out in the empty parking lot on Thanksgiving. But as she talks, passing cars beep their horns in support. People have brought the workers pizza and fried chicken, she said, and a law firm donated $1,000, which they used to rent a warming shelter.

A spokeswoman for Loblaw defended the company's proposed contract, noting it was supported by union leadership.

"We put a deal in front of our colleagues that we believed to be fair and that addressed many of the topics they have raised including full-time roles, job security and wage increases," Catherine Thomas said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2020.

Downtown Edmonton contemporary arts centre showcases — and is led by — Indigenous artists

A new art centre in Edmonton is focused on supporting the work of Indigenous artists.

© Morgan Black/Global News 

Lana Whiskeyjack inside Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Centre on October 8, 2020

The Ociciwan Contemporary Arts Centre features the art of both established and current creatives.

"Ociciwan" comes from the Cree word that means "the current comes from there." The Indigenous-led collective chose the name to represent the North Saskatchewan River.

Executive director Becca Taylor said the group worked with the city to re-design the space (formerly the iHuman building) so that it would fit the needs of an Indigenous organization.

"We needed the space to be transformable.

"We needed an exhibition space but we also needed to think about the ways in which we gather as Indigenous people," Taylor said.

"A top priority became having a kitchen because we gather over food a lot — and having a community space to gather and have conversations."

The centre's artwork features a variety of Indigenous experiences, including depictions of Canadian history such as the smallpox epidemic and residential schools.

"There are works that are a little bit darker.

"It looks at our history and the way colonialization has really affected the Indigenous population, but also the resiliency of Indigenous people and the honouring of our spirits and community within the exhibition," Taylor said.

The exhibit opened in September, after delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its first exhibit includes artists with roots in Edmonton.

Read more: Young Alberta writers explore the world through words during COVID-19 pandemic

"We wanted to honour our home, the place we are in, and highlight the incredible talent that is here," Taylor said. "You'll see paintings, film, beading, sculpture and performance."

Lana Whiskeyjack is one artist highlighted in the exhibition. Whiskeyjack's research, writing and art explores the "paradoxes of what it means to be nehiyaw (Cree) and iskwew (woman) in a Western culture and society.


"A lot of the intention and purpose of my work isn't art for art's sake; it's art for community and future generations.

"It's a constant response of my experiences as an Indigenous woman."

Whiskeyjack said the space is also a place of healing.

"It's a space I don't have to explain myself to. It has elder involvement and knows the protocols and history of the ways of knowing and being of Indigenous people in this land," she said.

"It's a space based in our Indigenous worldviews and values. It's where we can honour ourselves as human beings."

Will host four exhibits a year. You can book a visit to Ociciwan here.

CANADA
Feds fund small nuclear reactor ahead of national strategy to adopt more of them

OTTAWA — An Ontario nuclear power company is getting $20 million from Ottawa to try to get its new small modular reactor in line with Canada's safety regulations.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The grant to Terrestrial Energy in Oakville, Ont., is the first investment Canada has made in small modular reactors, or SMRs. It comes just weeks before Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan expects to produce a "road map" to show how the emerging technology will be used to help get Canada to its climate change goals.

"Just last week, the International Energy Agency released a landmark report showing that achieving our target of net-zero emissions without nuclear energy will take a lot longer, with a great risk of failure," he said.

Canada has promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by almost one-third in the next 10 years, and then to net-zero by 2050, when any emissions still produced are captured by nature or technology.

About one-fifth of Canada's electricity still comes from fossil fuels, including natural gas and coal.

Nuclear generators produce no greenhouse gas emissions. They currently make up 15 per cent of Canada's energy mix overall, but only Ontario and New Brunswick use nuclear reactors for electricity.

Those CANDU reactors are big and expensive, while SMRs are pitched as smaller and more versatile, and can be shipped to remote locations where electricity grids don't currently reach.

SMRs are still in the developmental stage, with about a dozen companies in Canada trying to be the first to the finish line.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, whose department is providing the $20-million grant through its strategic innovation fund, said they are an emerging technology with high growth potential.

"Without a doubt one of our most promising solutions to fight climate change and promote clean energy has three letters — SMR," he said.

Bains says the money will help the company complete a pre-licensing process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

This process occurs before the company applies for a licence so that it can work to meet the commission's requirements in the development phase. Terrestrial has been working with the commission for nearly two years and is also undergoing a similar process with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Terrestrial has offices in Oakville and Connecticut.

The company hopes its first nuclear reactor will be producing power before the end of the decade.

Not everyone is as convinced as O'Regan and Bains that nuclear is the answer to Canada's climate change dreams.

Eva Schacherl, who helped found the Coalition Against Nuclear Dumps on the Ottawa River, said nuclear waste is a big concern, and fears investments in SMRs are going to take money away from cleaner, already proven technologies like wind, solar and tidal power.

"It will distract our attention and resources," she said.

Plus, she said, Canada already has enough nuclear waste to fill more than 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"We really don't need to create more," she said.

O'Regan said he is also developing a radioactive waste policy, and said nuclear will not displace other sources of clean power.

"All of this is part of a wave of different energy sources we are going to need," he said. "We're going to need all of it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2020.

Federal government invests in small nuclear reactors to help it meet net-zero 2050 target


The federal government says it's investing $20 million in the nuclear industry to help Canada meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The investment in Oakville Ontario's Terrestrial Energy is meant to help the firm bring small modular nuclear reactors to market.

"By helping to bring these small reactors to market, we are supporting significant environmental and economic benefits, including generating energy with reduced emissions, highly skilled job creation and Canadian intellectual property development," said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains in a media statement.

Small modular reactors — SMRs — are smaller than a conventional nuclear power plant and can be built in one location before being transported and assembled elsewhere.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited says it sees three major uses for SMRs in Canada:

Helping utilities replace energy capacity lost to closures of coal fired power plants.

Providing power and heat to off-grid industrial projects such as mines and oilsands developments. 

Replacing diesel fuel as a source of energy and heat in remote communities.

Bains said nuclear energy is part of the energy mix Canada must have to reach its climate targets. 

Another part of that mix, Bains said, was the recently announced $590 investment — split evenly between the Ontario and federal governments — to help the Ford Motor Company upgrade its assembly plant in Oakville and start making electric vehicles there

.

© Tracy Fuller/CBC Small modular nuclear reactors could replace diesel generating facilities in remote communities across Canada, like this one in Fort Providence, NWT.

Recycling nuclear waste

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said the federal government is reviewing its radioactive waste program to ensure it adheres to the "highest international standards."

"We do have to make sure that Canadians trust the power system," O'Regan said. "SMR technology allows us to minimize the amount of waste and in some cases has the potential to recycle nuclear waste."

The federal government says that Terrestrial Energy has committed to creating and maintaining 186 jobs and creating 52 co-op placements nationally.

The government says the company also has promised to undertake gender equity and diversity initiatives to, among other things, boost the number of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

CANADA 

Online hate, racist hiring practices among targets of $15M federal anti-racism funds


OTTAWA — Combating online hate is one of the main efforts getting a financial boost from Ottawa's anti-racism strategy, with more than a dozen projects receiving federal funding Thursday.© Provided by The Canadian Press

Diversity Minister Bardish Chagger listed 85 projects that will share $15 million from the strategy's anti-racism action program, and nearly one-fifth of that money will be used by community groups and anti-racism organizations to monitor, report on, and try to combat online hatred.

"If we as Canadians truly desire a consciously more inclusive Canada, every single one of us must step up, be allies and do whatever we can to make workplaces, communities and public spaces safer and more inclusive for all," Chagger said.

Amira Elghawaby, a board member at the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said the $268,400 grant it is receiving will allow it to hire more staff and triple the amount of work they're able to do searching for and combating hatred.

"Over the past two years, our work has taken on new urgency," she said.

"There are more members and supporters of hate groups and dangerous conspiracy groups than there has been in at least a generation. They're harassing people. They're killing people, and they need to be stopped, or at least contained. And that's what we do."

Other projects will see the development of apps, digital strategies and education campaigns to try to halt the growth of online hate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged during the 2019 election to go after online hate more, and restated that commitment in last month's throne speech.

It took more than a year for the action program funds to be awarded, a delay Chagger blamed on the sheer volume of interest.

"We received a lot more response than was intended," she said, noting 1,100 applications were filed for the $15 million.

In addition to online hate, the funded projects will go after systemic racism in the workplace including in hiring practices, racism in the justice system including policing, as well as racism in education and social services.

The anti-racism strategy was first unveiled in June 2019 as a three-year, $45 million program that would include the funds for community action, and an anti-racism secretariat in government to address systemic racism in federal institutions and policies.

The secretariat is to produce its first report this fall.

Trudeau promised in the 2019 election to double that funding but Chagger was vague about when, or even if, that will happen.

"We will continue to build upon our commitments to Canadians," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2020.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Experts slam 'dangerous fallacy' of virus herd immunity

Issued on: 15/10/2020 -

The World Health Organization has warned for months that herd immunity strategies would not work to control the new coronavirus Fabrice COFFRINI 

Paris (AFP)

Proponents of allowing the new coronavirus to circulate among populations in the hope of achieving herd immunity are promoting a "dangerous fallacy" devoid of scientific proof, dozens of health experts said Thursday.

In an open letter published in The Lancet medical journal, more than 80 specialists from universities across the world said that the only effective way of limiting excess deaths during the pandemic was to control the disease's spread.

The letter comes after numerous US media this week reported that senior Trump administration officials had voiced support for an online declaration advocating herd immunity which gathered more than 9,000 signatories worldwide.

As a second Covid-19 wave batters Europe, several countries have reintroduced controls on movement and implemented regionalised lockdowns.

The authors of Thursday's letter said that the social and economic impacts of confinement had led to "widespread demoralisation and diminishing trust" in government measures to get a handle on the virus.

The second wave has also led to a renewed interest in so-called herd immunity, which suggests allowing a large uncontrolled outbreak among people considered to be at low risk of death or serious illness from the virus.

The health experts listed numerous flaws in the concept.

Firstly, "uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity and mortality across the whole population," the letter said.

This would have a catastrophic human and financial cost, besides overwhelming healthcare systems.

The authors also noted that it is possible to become reinfected with Covid-19.

Herd immunity offers no guarantee that those who caught the virus would remain immune to it for any meaningful length of time.

This would present a risk to vulnerable populations for "the indefinite future", the authors said.

- 'Disaster medicine' -

Such a strategy would result in "recurrent epidemics" of Covid-19 similar to those caused by numerous infectious diseases before vaccines were invented.

"It would also place an unacceptable burden on the economy and healthcare workers, many of whom have died from Covid-19 or experienced trauma as a result of having to practise disaster medicine," they wrote.

The World Health Organization has been warning for months that herd immunity for Covid-19 was impossible without untold casualties.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the concept was "unethical".

"The vast majority of people in most countries remain susceptible to this virus," he said.

"Letting the virus circulate unchecked therefore means allowing unnecessary infections, suffering and death."

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan warned back in May that any country pursuing herd immunity were making "a really dangerous calculation".

Herd immunity: Is it a more compassionate approach or will it lead to death or illness for millions?

October 15, 2020
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

(Photo: Shutterstock)

As coronavirus cases increase across much of the United States, the Trump administration has reportedly adopted a policy of deliberately letting the virus infect much of the U.S. population in order to attain “herd immunity” — despite warnings from the World Health Organization against such an approach. We host a debate on the contentious issue of herd immunity and how best to confront the virus with two Harvard medical experts: epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and one of the lead signatories of the controversial Great Barrington Declaration arguing for an easing of lockdowns, and Dr. Abraar Karan, an internal medicine doctor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School who has worked on the COVID-19 public health response in Massachusetts since February.

Fauci blasts herd immunity proposal embraced by White House as 'total nonsense'

© Getty Images Fauci blasts herd immunity proposal embraced by White House as 'total nonsense'

Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, on Thursday called a herd immunity proposal being embraced by the White House "total nonsense."

The so-called Great Barrington Declaration authored by a small group of doctors calls for quickly reaching herd immunity by letting COVID-19 spread uncontrolled among the young and healthy population while protecting the vulnerable.

Herd immunity, typically achieved with a vaccine, is the point at which a disease, like measles, stops spreading widely throughout a population because enough people have already had it and are immune to it. It's not clear if prior COVID-19 infection confers long-term immunity to the disease.

"If you just let things rip and let the infection go ... that, quite frankly, George, is ridiculous," Fauci said Thursday, addressing ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview.

Fauci, who appeared impassioned while railing against the proposal, noted that 30 percent of the population has underlying health conditions that makes them vulnerable. Additionally, older adults, even those who are otherwise healthy, are far more likely than young adults to become seriously ill if they get COVID-19.

"What that will do is that there will be so many people in the community that you can't shelter, that you can't protect, who are gonna get sick and get serious consequences," Fauci said.

"So this idea that we have the power to protect the vulnerable is total nonsense because history has shown that that's not the case. And, and if you talk to anybody who has any experience in epidemiology and infectious diseases, they will tell you that that is risky, and you'll wind up with many more infections of vulnerable people, which will lead to hospitalizations and deaths. So I think that we just got to look that square in the eye and say it's nonsense," he said.

The declaration has been embraced by Scott Atlas, neuroradiologist and adviser to Trump who has no obvious expertise on infectious diseases.

The three doctors behind the declaration met with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Atlas last week to discuss the declaration, as first reported by The Hill.

A senior Trump administration official then praised the declaration during a call with reporters Monday organized by the White House.

The Great Barrington Declaration argues that lockdowns "are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health," including fewer cancer screenings, lower childhood vaccination rates and deteriorating mental health.

"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," the declaration reads. "We call this Focused Protection."

Fauci on Thursday responded that no one is arguing for permanent lockdowns.

"We don't want to shut down the country. I say that all the time. We certainly want to protect the vulnerable," he said.

Experts argue the best way to protect the vulnerable is by trying to slow the spread of COVID-19. The higher cases of COVID-19 are in a community, the more at risk the vulnerable are to getting sick, experts say.

"This [declaration] is dangerous because it puts the entire population, particularly the most vulnerable, at risk. Young people are not all healthy and they don't live in vacuums," dozens of scientists, doctors and researchers wrote in a letter published this week in The Lancet medical journal.

"They interact with family members, co-workers and neighbors. Inviting increased rates of COVID-19 in young people will lead to increased infections rates among all Americans," they said.