Very basically he is advocating that the United States give up on testing and isolation and go instead for herd immunity. This is a strategy that Sweden has taken.
The estimate is that somewhere between 20% and 70% of the population need to become infected with the virus to achieve herd immunity. Today we just crossed the 6 million mark of infections and by COB today we will be over 180,000 deaths.
The Washington Post estimates that with a population of 328 million in the United States, it may require 2.13 million deaths to reach a 65% threshold of herd immunity, assuming a 1 percent fatality rate.
In World War I, the combatants never looked at the "acceptable number of casualties" as a measure for their tactics. "Casualties topped 1 million, including the deaths of more than 300,000. British troops sustained 420,000 casualties — including 125,000 deaths — during the Battle of the Somme. The casualties also included 200,000 French troops and 500,000 German soldiers."
Herd immunity at what cost? It has a magical quality to it. An instant solution to a complex problem that hopefully won't impact the decision-maker.
