December 9, 2020, 12:16 pm
Donald Trump managed to show a very poor understanding of the concept of herd immunity while also celebrating the fact that a massive number of U.S. residents have contracted the novel coronavirus in one White House event. During a press conference to talk about the vaccine, he said it was “terrific” that nearly 15 percent of the population had been infected so far after nearly a year of downplaying the issue.
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“And I hear we’re close to 15 percent,” he said. “I’m hearing that, and that’s terrific, that’s a very powerful vaccine in itself.”
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Even the percentage number was inaccurate, as the U.S. has so far seen over 15 million total COVID-19 cases, which does not represent 15 percent of a population of 328 million. Regardless, the idea of herd immunity being a viable method of combating the pandemic has been widely panned as a fancy term for “doing nothing” that would result in millions of U.S. deaths if implemented.
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There are also still questions about immunity to the virus as multiple people appear to have come down with COVID-19 more than once. There is also growing concern about long-term effects from the illness which are already causing permanent disabilities in some of its less fortunate survivors.
Trump has been hit with widespread criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic after failing to warn the public until months after he was briefed on the threat and then downplaying the problem for months. Most recently, it was revealed that his administration “passed” on an offer from Pfizer, which has been the first company to deploy an effective vaccine, to secure millions more doses over the summer after only nabbing 100 million. This amounts to enough vaccines for only 50 million U.S. residents as it’s deployed in two doses each, and Pfizer now may not be able to provide the country with more.
The nation is rapidly approaching 300,000 deaths from COVID-19 with public health experts warning that the surge will only continue as the consequences from travel and gatherings over Thanksgiving manifest. With all this in mind, many are not appreciating Donald Trump calling the situation “terrific.”
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“My neighbor has Covid right now and is suffering tremendously,” wrote commenter Jay Black. “It we had a president that wasn’t just a rotting pumpkin stapled to an empty suit, he and a lot of other people wouldn’t have had to suffer to get immunity.”
*First Published: December 9, 2020, 12:16 pm
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