COVID-19: Are we handling this the right way?

COVID-19 Reflections: Severe lockdowns and Stay-at-Home orders have been hallmark of the national and global response to this Pandemic. They have been imposed with little precedent and scant evidence of their effectiveness as opposed to less restrictive social distancing measures.

Given the widely acknowledged negative medical and socioeconomic impacts of these interventions their assessment is critical. Over the two months since their imposition, US cases have soared to some 1.5 million and deaths have exceeded 100, thousand and the epidemiological curve has only recently begun to drop even with an infectious disease that has an average incubation period of 5 days. The reasons for this are explored as well as implications for going forward.

Given the unrelenting march of this Pandemic and a safe and effective vaccine probably at least a year away, if at all, Herd Immunity needs to be looked at as a reasonable strategy. The issues of transmission, and individual and population susceptibility are addressed as well as what the realistic level of Herd Immunity required might be.

Importantly, Herd Immunity is not an all or none figure; any increase in the number of non-susceptibles in the population will decrease transmission and truly help "flatten the curve."

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Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is the first comprehensive and authoritative journal emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response for all health care and public health professionals globally. The journal seeks to translate science into practice and integrate medical and public health perspectives. DMPHP is the official journal of the Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health.

The Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health aims to evolve a discipline around disaster medicine and public health. The society's goal is to improve global health security, with the involvement and development of global health professionals and others who are involved in responding to and or managing significant events. The mission of the SDMPH is to advance and promote excellence in education, training and research in disaster medicine and public health for all potential health system responders based on sound educational principles, scientific evidence and best clinical and public health practices.