A frontline doctor said the right response to a future wave of COVID-19 should be based on focused protection without government intervention or medical mandates.
Currently, a new variant—the Omicron sub-variant BA.2—is quickly spreading across the United States, Europe, China, and other parts of the world. Early reports indicate that the variant seems more transmissible, but there’s no conclusion yet as to whether it will cause a large spike in infections.
Barke is a board-certified primary care physician in private practice for over 25 years. He’s also a member of the advocacy group America’s Frontline Doctors.
“Of course, we expect variants of Delta and variants of Omicron and coronavirus to be present, and likely for many, many years,” Barke said. “The good news, though, is as each variant comes to be, we hope that it will be less severe and less detrimental. Plus, so many people now have natural immunity and some vaccine immunity that should be at least partially protective against any variant that comes out.
“The lockdown should never have occurred to begin with. It was the wrong approach,“ Barke said. ”Studies have shown that the lockdown and the government action on COVID was more detrimental than the virus itself.”
Government intervention, such as lockdowns, travel bans, school or business closures, and mask or vaccine mandates, have been highly controversial. Critics have claimed that lockdowns had caused spikes of mental problems, drug overdoses, and domestic violence. School closures also led to learning loss in children, among other issues.
“The proper approach, in my opinion, is the one put forward by the Great Barrington Declaration, Jay Bhattacharya and company,” Barke said. “And that is an idea of focused protection.”
“We know who this virus harms, and it’s not young, healthy people. This virus primarily harms older folks and those with significant comorbidities underlying illness. Those are the folks we should be protecting and being careful,” Barke said.
“For the rest of us, we should pretty much go about our business,” he said. “Many younger people have natural immunity, so they should not worry. Children do great, not just my opinion. If you look at the CDC’s own data, less than 18 years old, there’s been around 900 deaths over the last two-plus years.”
“While every one of those deaths, of course, is a horrible tragedy, the reality is almost every single one of those deaths—in kids less than 18 years old—have been in kids that have significant underlying comorbidities.
“We’re talking about childhood cancer, blood disorders, diabetes, obesity, and so forth. Healthy Kids simply do not die of COVID 19. They have a greater risk of dying in a traffic accident or from seasonal influenza. So we should be leaving our children alone. We should not be vaccinating them with an experimental vaccine. We should not be masking them.”
“We must take special care to protect the vulnerable from COVID, even as many restrictions are lifted. We need to provide tests, and treatments, and masks. We must fight the virus overseas, prepare for new waves, and new variants—all of which can be coming. And we must work with Congress to fund these vital steps, as time is running out to stay ahead of the virus.”
