Republican Gov Debunks Right-Wing Coronavirus Theory In Stirring Call For Masks
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is warning his state’s residents not to count on herd immunity for protection from the coronavirus.
Herd immunity is when a virus stops spreading after enough people have antibodies to protect against it, either from a vaccine or from becoming sick. Some ― particularly on the right ― have advocated for a rapid reopening of the economy to allow more people to get sick so the U.S. could quickly reach that level of immunity (although some scientists have warned that antibody protection from infection may not last).
But Reeves spelled out on Twitter what that would mean in reality and concluded with a blunt call for people to wear masks in public.
“I’ve listened to some people argue that the rapid spread of cases is a good thing, and we need to reach herd immunity in Mississippi and elsewhere to survive,” he wrote. “I’m not a health care expert by any means, but I am a math guy.”
Then, Reeves crunched the numbers. He noted that experts say herd immunity kicks in when 70% to 80% of the population has been infected, but started his hypothetical experiment from an optimistic scenario in which herd immunity took effect at 40%:
In Mississippi, our population is 3 million. We’ve had 36,680 cases so far.
We’d need 1.2 MILLION infections to achieve that hypothetical 40% threshold. (Remember, experts say it’s double that.)— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) July 13, 2020
Reeves said the state had been seeing 700 to 900 new infections a day, with more than 1,000 new cases on its worst day. That had already led to a hospital system “stressed to the point of pain” and on the verge of being overwhelmed.
“To get to 40% infections, we’d need 3,187 new cases every day for a full year from today,” he said. “We would need to TRIPLE our worst day ― every day ― for a year.”
Reeves concluded:
I’m not one of these guys that immediately dismisses any idea that challenges the expert status quo talking points. I’m pretty skeptical by nature. That’s healthy. But herd immunity is not anything like a realistic solution in the short or mid-term. I wish it was.
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) July 13, 2020
Unless you’re willing to go without hospitals after a car wreck or heart attack, we need a different approach. Right now, despite mixed messages at the beginning, it seems like masks are the best bet. They’re a hell of a lot better than widespread shut downs. Please wear one!
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) July 13, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.