‘We Want Them Infected’: Leaked Emails Reveal Trump Appointee Demanded ‘Herd Immunity’ Strategy

Dan Diamond, reporting for Politico:

A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a “herd immunity” approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained by a House watchdog and shared with POLITICO.

“There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD,” then-science adviser Paul Alexander wrote on July 4 to his boss, Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo, and six other senior officials. “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk….so we use them to develop herd…we want them infected…” Alexander added.

“[I]t may be that it will be best if we open up and flood the zone and let the kids and young folk get infected” in order to get “natural immunity… natural exposure,” Alexander wrote on July 24 to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Caputo and eight other senior officials.

They put in writing what seemed obvious — yet unbelievable — all along. There was no plan. Just let everyone get sick and watch hundreds of thousands die needlessly.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes took heat in July for his flat statement that “Trump is objectively pro-virus” because it was a terrible thing to say about the President of the United States. But it was the plain truth.

★ Wednesday, 16 December 2020