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Scientists and Doctors Call for Return to Normal Life in The Great Barrington Declaration

girl in classroom raising her hand

Story Highlights

  • On Oct. 6, 2020, an international group of scientists, doctors and other medical professionals issued a petition, The Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), challenging the wisdom of current restrictive public health strategies employed by governments for addressing COVID-19.
  • The GBD signatories called for “focused protection” that commits resources to protecting vulnerable populations, allowing most people to return to normal life.
  • The scientists and medical professionals signing the GBD point out that potential ramifications of current strategies include long-term mental health issues, worsening cardiovascular
    disease and other pre-existing conditions, significant financial hardship and increased incidence of domestic partner and child abuse.

On Oct. 6, 2020, an international coalition of scientists, doctors and medical professionals created and signed a document they titled The Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), which was named for the Massachusetts town where organizers gathered and in which the petition was signed.1 By the end of October, the Declaration had already secured signatures from 10,233 scientists, 27,860 medical professionals and 504,875 concerned citizens.2

In the document, infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists from all over the world expressed their deep concern about the potential negative repercussions of lockdown measures imposed by governments in the wake of COVID-19 and called for a global policy change to what they call “focused protection.”

The Great Barrington Declaration Highlights Negative Effects of Lockdowns

The creators of the GBD3 maintain that “current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” including fewer healthcare screening visits, worse outcomes for cardiovascular disease and other pre-existing conditions, and serious effects on mental health. Stating that “vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young” and further, that “for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza,” the authors recommend measures be put in place to protect vulnerable segments of society, while allowing all others to immediately return to normal life.

Specifically, they suggest that nursing home staff should be limited to those with acquired immunity, staff rotation should be minimized and all staff and visitors should be frequently tested.  Groceries and other essentials should be delivered to elderly who live in the community and the vulnerable should interact with people outside whenever possible. For everyone else, the authors recommend that:

  • schools and universities should immediately reopen for in-person
    attendance, including all extracurricular activities;
  • businesses and restaurants should open fully;
  • art, music, sports and other group events should resume; and
  • young low-risk adults should return to work instead of working from home.

Martin Kulldorff, PhD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the three initial signatories of the GBD said, “As a public-health scientist, it is stunning to see how focused people are on this one disease and on the short term.” He argues that public health policy must focus on health as a whole, including all diseases, and should take a long view rather than opting for a short-term solution.

Dr. Kulldorff also asserted his belief that even if we choose to focus on COVID-19 alone, the lockdowns and isolations do not make sense:

We sought to flatten the curve in the spring so as not to overload hospitals, and that succeeded in almost every country. But trying to suppress the disease with contact tracing, testing and isolation, together with severe lockdowns, is not going to solve the problem. It will just push things into the future.4

Pointing at Sweden—which did not impose strict lockdown measures for the past year—as an example of the economic and social benefits of a more relaxed approach to protective measures, he stressed that COVID-19 is much less serious than seasonal influenza for children. Breaking down statistics on Sweden’s 5,900 COVID-19 deaths as of Oct. 22, 2020, only two occurred in children under age 9, while 4,004 deaths were in people ages 80 and above.5

Others Argue That Lower Risk of COVID-19 Does Not Mean No Risk

Some argue that, while older people are more likely to experience severe symptoms or to die from COVID-19, children and young people are not immune to infection, even serious infection.6 The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that more than 20 percent of confirmed cases during the summer months occurred in people between 20 and 29 years of age. For the week of Sept. 28, the National Center for Health Statistics reported 1,800 COVID-19-related deaths in people under age 35, with 419 of those in young people under age 25. They also reported that 851 children under age 18 have been hospitalized with severe disease. Those numbers are updated every week and, as of Oct. 22, there have been 2,090 reported deaths involving COVID-19 in Americans under age 35, with 462 in individuals under age 25.7

Long-Term Damage Expected from COVID-19 Restrictions

Most experts agree that lockdowns are expected to have major long-term socio-economic consequences for populations. A U.N. report focusing on the impact on children and young people warned that, “All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good,” and, further, that “the impact will be life-long.” Analysis of data from more than 60 pre-existing, peer-reviewed studies indicated a strong association between loneliness and future mental health issues in young people, suggesting that the duration of loneliness had a greater impact than degree.8

Looking at current pandemic strategies, Dr. Kulldorff also pointed out that lockdown measures disproportionately affect the working class, who may not be able to work (restaurant staff for example, if their place of business is closed) or are unable to work or isolate at home (such as those in service industries). In this way, Kulldorff argues, we are effectively “throwing the working class under the bus,” while protecting the more privileged such as college students and business professionals who can more easily work from home.9

Mental Health and Economic Repercussions from COVID-19 Lockdowns

Decreases in preventive care and screening visits, increases in risk for mental health issues, significant financial losses and the potential collapse of many restaurants and small businesses that may be unable to rebound are not the only ramifications of isolation and lockdown policies. There also has been a sharp uptick in both the number and severity of incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) during the pandemic compared to the three years prior, with increases in calls to domestic abuse helplines reported worldwide. 10

Some of the factors identified during COVID-19 lockdowns as potential stressors that could lead to increased domestic violence include socioeconomic instability, avoidance of healthcare facilities due to fear of catching the virus, lack of community support, increased substance abuse and more time spent at home with partners. 11

During this same period, the National Children’s Alliance (NCA), reporting for more than 900 children’s advocacy centers (CACs) across the U.S., says they have seen 21 percent fewer child abuse cases in this year, correlating to about 40,000 fewer children served compared to the same period last year. Child safety advocates attribute the change to an underreporting of abuse in the face of
COVID-19. As NCA Executive Director Teresa Huizar put it:

It really did exemplify our worst fears, which is that kids are home and that they were outside the view line in many cases of trusted adults and teachers and counselors and coaches and physicians―all the folks who normally are making reports as mandated reporters.12

In the words of Dr. Kulldorff in advocating for the GBD, the strategies to try to contain and combat COVID-19 have amounted to “a unique experiment, and it’s a terrible experiment… in a short time, we are throwing all the principles of public health out the window.”13 Those who have signed the GBD and others maintain that COVID-19 will always be with us and that we must use traditional, more balanced public health strategies, while adapting to living with the new coronavirus until populations acquire immunity and the disease becomes less virulent.


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24 Responses

  1. Fauci is a criminal akin to El Chapo Guzman. He belongs in jail. Gates are sociopaths. Money should NOT be dictating the direction of laws and corporate politics.
    Humanity will not be healthy mentally or physically unless we stop this distracting dialogue. Stop vaccinating, drugging and destroying our people!
    Sickness happens… Homeopathy is a better choice. The FDA is trying to make it unavailable… WAKE UP to what is driving the censorship.. even you!
    CDC WHO pharma.

  2. yes – “return to ‘normal’ life MASK-FREE!!!!! – return to normal life without the requirement or mandante of any kind to wear “the mask” or any OTHER type of restrictions – returning to school and work WITH NO MASK OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES OR CONDITIONS!!!!!

  3. Huh? Where’s the editor for this article? Sweden’s 5.9 MILLION COVID deaths?! Come on.. Someone should have at least proof read this before it went to print. I bet the covidiots are really going to be impressed with how Sweden handled this phony plandemic. They would have been de-populated by over half if that number was correct. I think it was meant to be approximately 5,900. Of course those deaths could have been from natural and all other causes. We know how that’s going these days.

  4. “covid related deaths” “deaths involving covid”. IOW, they died of comorbidities and covid was a contributing factor and not the actual cause. If we did this kind of reporting with colds, flu, or pneumonia, nobody would die of diabetes, heart disease, or anything else.

  5. We must admit to ourselves that the exaggerated covid rules are not a “mistake.” They are the purposeful takedown of our economy and our democracy by a few billionaire families who have the treasonous wish to end our countries, and to create the NWO or The Great Reset.

    They control our media. They must be arrested.

    1. I totally, totally agree Penelope! This is a massive psychological operation to help them usher in the New World Order. This has been the plan for generations. It’s one huge Blitzkrieg, we’re being attacked on all fronts. Truth is definitely stranger than Fiction.

  6. Either I’m misunderstanding this or this is a typo, “Breaking down statistics on Sweden’s 5,900,000 COVID-19 deaths as of Oct. 22, 2020, only two occurred in children under age 9, while 4,004 deaths were in people ages 80 and above.5” I’m guessing Sweden has not had 5.9 million deaths so far… 🙂

  7. I heartily agree with the Barrington Declaration!! I am 75 years old and the only thing I changed in my life was wearing a mask when the proprietor said I must to enter. What I would add to this declaration is what I have done even before the Chinese virus. There are a great many articles about how to strengthen your immune system through supplementation, spiritual exercises, and physical exercises. There is research stating that most of those who died after contracting the Chinese virus were vitamin D deficient. So taking vitamin D along with Zinc and iodine gives your body what it needs to fight any virus.

    I believe the reason those 55 and older are at risk if they contract the virus is because most of that population is taking prescription drugs which attack the immune system due to the fact that prescription drugs are toxic. Once you begin taking a toxic prescription drug, your body uses nutrients to rid itself of the toxins. Terrible downhill run to illness when you begin taking prescription drugs.

  8. I’m so happy to read all of these intelligent people’s comments. I was beginning to think that this twilight zone of mask wearing zombie morons was what we have to look forward to forever. Glad to hear that SOMEBODY is fighting back. Hopefully when Trump is elected, FAUCI Fraud will be fired. I noticed all of the untrue and cooked up statistics right away. Even the tests are a hoax. There is NO way to test for covid 19. Someone is sure making a LOT of money off the tests, and I wonder who has interests in the mask industry, which, buy the way, on the box states that masks do not prevent the spread of viruses. Guess ignorant people just like to follow along with the rest of the non-thinking sheep.

  9. Totally agree!, as well What took so long? Locking down is delaying the inevitable and ruining our lives and economy in so many ways. No more masks, except for those at high risk

  10. Too bad if Biden is in. His expected virus adviser will be Ezekiel J. Emanuel…or in other words a kin of Dr. Mengele of WW2. We will have nationwide lockdowns into 2022. Millions more will revisit the unemployment lists and 1,000’s of small businesses will be lost forever. And all for a fake virus that is being used to create fear and to replace capitalism and freedom with Marxism. Government will become your new intimate partner telling you what you can and can’t do…beyond what you ever thought.

  11. Thank you for this article and all your work filled with common sense and integrity. Illumination of the societal tentacles of the vaccine beast is certainly fresh air. Lets however be careful in our excitement over the Barrington Declaration. https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/11/04/the-great-barrington-herd-immunity-hoax/ It is funded by the Koch Institute and other right wing groups that do not give a crap about environmental toxins, corporate abuse, human rights violations, global warming, etc. Koch is in fact a world leader in facilitating those problems through its operations and uses profits to thwart US economics and politics that would improve human health. Vaccine injury would be a drop in the bucket compared to the human dislocation that Koch wields. In the SAME vein, Trump’s, opposition to Covid restrictions is foremost about money/greed and only conveniently masked in the guise of individual freedoms. His scientific advisor is one of the spearheads of the Barr Declaration. What an conundrum we face in vaccine choice, homeschooling, and now Covid where holistic, progressive liberals find themselves awkwardly aligned with conservatives. Perhaps this is what we need in this impossibly polarized country, totally at odds groups forced to hang out together…..

  12. There are only 10 million plus people living in Sweden! If there were 5.9 million deaths get a clue….that would mean about half the population of Sweden has died from Covid 19 this year. If YOU do a fact check, John’s Hopkins reports there are now just over 6 thousand deaths to date from Covid 19.

  13. Nov 6, 2020 Irish doctor interview: “The Price Of Truth”. Witness…#Leadership.

    A compassionate and emotionally charged interview with a brave Irish doctor, one who tried to speak up. To speak up for a balanced and proportionate response to this challenging viral issue.

    https://youtu.be/_WbKl2gPo4Y

  14. Dear Kate Raines – Thank you for the correction!
    5,900,000 deaths of Covid would probably be the half of population in Sweden.

  15. The Barrington Declaration is just more pandering to the governmental/pharma establishment that got us into this mess in the first place. Nothing less that total personal freedom to choose whether to wear a mask or take the jab will do. I will not comply!

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