Yeah, herd immunity. I think it’s estimated to be something like 65-70% for COVID-19. The percentage varies depending on how contagious something is.
I’ve seen the idea floated that maybe we should try to figure out the minimum amount of virus it would take to infect someone and infect people intentionally, the thought being that the smaller the amount of virus the less severe the illness. Sounded nuts to me when I heard it, but if we can figure out some sure-fire treatments to keep people from dying from it might be something to consider. I’m not too crazy about infecting people and just hoping for the best.
“figure out the minimum amount of virus it would take to infect someone and infect people intentionally, the thought being that the smaller the amount of virus the less severe the illness. Sounded nuts to me”
I think that’s basically what George Washington did to his troops to deal with smallpox, so the concept has been around for centuries.
“To counter both the fear and the actual disease itself George Washington ordered a bold move on January 6, 1777, to have the entire Continental Army inoculated. At this juncture it became a matter of policy. This act alone may have saved the Revolution. The process was simple. A physician lanced one of the infected patient’s pustules with a knife or scalpel and then inserted the infected blade under the skin of a healthy person. Generally the inoculated person contracted the disease, but in a much milder form.”
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/washington-inoculates-army
We could go a long way to herd immunity if they just let young people get on with their lives and get infected through their normal daily routine. The virus is much less harmful to young people than a normal flu. So there is zero reason to try to prevent them from getting it by taking trillions out of the economy. But, yes, old people should be doing the social distancing and mask-wearing and hand-washing while the virus is allowed to surge in the young.