Emails released by a top Democratic lawmaker Wednesday show that top health officials repeatedly discussed a strategy of herd immunity as the virus spread through the U.S., killing tens of thousands of Americans.

What You Need To Know

  • Emails show a top health official pushed for a strategy of herd immunity to combat the pandemic

  • Herd immunity is a result of a large portion of a population getting infected, which would have meant more deaths from COVID-19

  • The official pushed for letting young people and non-vulnerable Americans get infected

  • Young people are less likely to die from the virus, but it was still deadly for thousands, according to a new study

The documents, sent to the House subcommittee on the coronavirus by Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) Wednesday, mostly feature emails written by Dr. Paul Alexander, an adviser to the Assistant Secretary for COVID-19 Pandemic Policy. 

Dr. Alexander pushed for an unproven strategy of herd immunity, including the idea to let less-vulnerable, younger Americans get infected while also acknowledging potential deaths among those same groups.

“My view, we open up fully,” Alexander wrote on July 4. “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions, etc. have zero to little risk.”

“So we use them to develop herd...we want them infected….” he proffered.

Herd immunity is the idea that such a large portion of a population gets the virus that transmission from person-to-person becomes rare. Experts have warned against the idea for deadly viruses like COVID-19, since at least 60 percent of the country would need to be infected, which would result in thousands of additional deaths.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has previously testified that herd immunity is not part of the administration’s pandemic response.

“His emails absolutely did not shape department strategy,” a spokesperson for HHS said in a statement to Spectrum News. "Dr. Paul Alexander ... is no longer employed at the Department."

As Dr. Alexander promoted the idea of purposefully letting Americans spread the virus, many young people were in fact dying of COVID-19.

In a study released Wednesday, researchers found that the first few months of the pandemic were some of the deadliest on record for people ages 25-44 years old.

From March to July, there were more than 11,000 excess deaths — deaths not anticipated in a normal year — though less than half were officially attributed to the virus. In some areas, such as New York City, up to 80 percent of deaths in young people were the fault of COVID-19.

“If it is causing more cases in young, my word is who cares…,” Dr. Alexander wrote on July 3. “As long as we make sensible decisions, and protect the elderely [sic] and nursing homes, we must go on with life….”

In other emails, he criticized career health official Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health and admitted rising cases over the summer were due to relaxing restrictions, despite the White House line that an increase in testing was the culprit.

The documents came to light due to an investigation by a House subcommittee into political interference by Trump administration officials into the CDC’s guidance and reports.

“I am deeply troubled that, instead of promoting the best available science needed to keep Americans safe, the Trump Administration has played politics with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 of our fellow Americans,” Rep. Clyburn said in a statement.