CORONAVIRUS

Lift coronavirus curbs and go for herd immunity, urges coalition of scientists

Sir Graham Brady and 13 other Tory MPs voted against the rule of six in the Commons last night
Sir Graham Brady and 13 other Tory MPs voted against the rule of six in the Commons last night
JESSICA TAYLOR/UK PARLIAMENT/PA

An international group of scientists have signed an open letter supported by 44,000 members of the general public calling for lockdown to be ended in favour of a herd immunity strategy.

Titled the Great Barrington Declaration after the US town where it was written, it says that those who are not vulnerable “should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal” and that maintaining any lockdown policies would cause irreparable harm.

The authors, including the Oxford epidemiologist Sunetra Gupta, wrote: “The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who