Herd immunity

My understanding is that the lockdown was instigated in order to prevent the NHS being over whelmed by huge numbers of people with coronavirus. Also, that the best way of overcoming the virus was by the development of “herd immunity”.

We h ave since discovered that a minute number of children have died from the virus (six, I believe) and that young people are hardly affected by it at all. Many are completely asymptomatic.

To achieve her dim mu nity, people need to have either caught the virus, or to have been vaccinated. As there is no sign yet of a vaccine (excluding Russian propaganda), that leaves people catching it. The Mayo Clinic in the US reckons that 70 per cent of the American population having had the virus would create herd immunity, so it would be reasonable to assume the same would apply in the UK. In 2018, 62.7 per cent of the UK population were aged 16-64, which means that 70 per cent would be in that range when younger children are included.

This must be the time for social distancing to end and for those who are under 60 to be encouraged to mix and get the disease. In case anyone disputes this, NHS England say that only 253 people aged under 60 with no underlying health issues have died of Covid-19. We must drop the lockdowns immediately and get the country back to normality while there is any chance of doing so.

PETER HOPKINS Morningside Road, Edinburgh