The CDC and various media are pushing the term “immunity debt.” They want you to know that as you return to normal life, you will get viruses and the flu. It looks like more fearmongering, but you decide.
The WSJ reports:
Doctors in France are calling it the immunity debt: When people avoided each other during the pandemic, they failed to build up the immunity against viruses that comes from normal contact.
As regular life resumes, society may find payments on that debt coming due, in the form of worse-than-normal viral disease outbreaks.
CNN Reports:
The measures that helped keep us safe from Covid-19 over the past 2½ years – lockdowns, physical distancing, wearing masks, washing hands – also helped limit the spread of other viruses. As people return to school and work and take off their masks, those viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus and flu, are back in full force.
That “immunity gap” from the last few years is probably behind the “unprecedented” early surge in RSV infections this year, scientists say – and it has thrown other seasonal respiratory viruses out of whack around the world.
“As long as we’ve had a record of RSV and other respiratory diseases in the United States, there have been these very regular patterns of outbreaks,” said Rachel Baker,an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Brown University.
Dr. Panda shared the information with this tweet:
Here @CDCDirector appears to propagate “immunity debt.” It’s not an accepted theory, it’s a recently invented lie to justify undermining policy that would reduce the transmission of pathogens
And it was, please note, said to the US Chamber of Commerce. H/t @wsbgnl pic.twitter.com/9yksFnaz60
— Thomas Finch, MD, MBA (@FinchTH) November 5, 2022
Dr. Panda writes:
If you haven’t heard here is how they define ‘Immunity Debt’:
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Immunity debt is the idea that the body has not been in contact with viruses because of pandemic prevention measures such as masking, social distancing, etc. As a result the body is more vulnerable to common bacterial and viral infections, like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and chicken pox. Our immune defenses are less effective in responding to bacterial attacks after a long period of inactivity. It’s a bit like an athlete who has been inactive for a long time and suddenly must compete for a medal at the Olympics.
However, Immunity debt is completely made up. It’s not taught in medical school, it’s not used in medical literature or scientific papers, pre-2021 anyway.
Some people are trying to say it’s not an invented term. Dr. Panda says it’s not true and explains:
The immune system does not lie dormant and weaken. In fact, our immune system is working day and night. It’s patrolling our bodies all of the time. Not only dealing with infectious diseases (like viruses and bacteria) but seeking and destroying cancer cells before they turn into a tumor. They also recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the environment.
Our bodies are constantly exposed to (and live with) trillions of viruses, bacteria and fungi. Our immune system is constantly interacting with these microorganisms. The immune system’s job is to figure out which ones are good (the ones living in our microbiome, primarily our gut) and which ones are bad. And because of the acquired portion of your immune system most germs you’ve came into contact with before don’t make you sick.
So Immunity Debt is not a real thing. Fake. Made Up. Not based in Science. I have been unable to find any evidence this is real. Our immune systems were not ‘denied’ anything by mitigation measures (masks, standing 6 feet apart, working from home, etc). Just go into your bathroom and you’ll encounter trillions of bacteria or eat yogurt or cheese and you’ll be consuming bacteria!
Your immune system was not deprived & we’re not more susceptible to infections because of ‘immune debt.’
Believe whatever you want, but we’re sticking with the common sense doctor, Dr. Panda as opposed to the fearmongers.
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