TUCSON, Ariz., March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The severe lockdown measures imposed to contain COVID-19, spurred in part by the frenetic media presentations of misleading statistics, need a calm risk/benefit analysis, writes anesthesiologist Paul Kempen, M.D., Ph.D., the current president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
“Just what would have happened without these imposed measures remains speculative,” he writes. “We also do not know how many died from the isolation itself or from failure to get needed treatment for existing and developing illnesses.”
In any emergency, it is necessary to set priorities, he emphasizes. He points to the huge difference in mortality rates based on age, with less than 1 percent of deaths occurring in persons under age 29, and asks why schools are still closed.
Dr. Kempen outlines the unknowns about the vaccinations, the main focus of government efforts. Do the vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection or disease transmission? How long does immunity persist, how does it compare to natural immunity, and does it protect against mutant strains? How long will the current level of taxpayer support continue, and how much will it cost, particularly if there are annual vaccination campaigns as with influenza?
Although the efficacy data in the trials looks very promising, he notes that the incidence of disease in the test population was far lower than in the general population, 0.04 percent vs. 1.16 percent over a 2-month period.
Dr. Kempen is hopeful that the COVID-19 threat is receding. He concludes that it is time to move forward, focusing on our nation’s foundations of liberty and justice for all, without being derailed by a virus.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Contact: Paul Kempen, M.D., Ph.D., kmpnpm@yahoo.com, or Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com