NEW: Rich McCormick Spreads Fringe ‘Herd Immunity’ Theory, Lies About COVID-19 Vaccine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Contact: Monica Robinson, press@carolyn4congress.com
NEW: Rich McCormick Spreads Fringe ‘Herd Immunity’ Theory, Lies About COVID-19 Vaccine
Rich McCormick falsely claims we're at COVID-19 "herd immunity," falsely promises vaccine by November 1
SUWANEE, GA — Today Rich McCormick again followed President Trump's lead on downplaying the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, falsely claiming the country had reached "herd immunity" and promising a vaccine would be available by November 1. Both claims fly in the face of what medical experts are saying.
When asked about the role government should play in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, McCormick replied: "I'm very proud to say that we've reached a point of saturation … Once you reach about 15 to 25% of the population — you do develop a herd immunity. We've reached that right now. We're seeing a huge decline in the cases all over Georgia."
This is a lie. Johns Hopkins University reports that "depending how contagious an infection is, usually 70% to 90% of a population" would need to be immune to the virus to achieve herd immunity. Last week, Washington Post reported that pursuing the fringe theory "could lead to the country suffering hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lost lives."
Watch: Rich McCormick Spreads Fringe ‘Herd Immunity’ Theory, Lies About COVID-19 Vaccine
McCormick also suggested that a vaccine would be available by November 1, a timeline that most experts dispute. Fortune reports that "Even if the most optimistic projections hold true and a COVID-19 vaccine is cleared for U.S. use in November, the vast majority of Americans won’t be able to get the shots until spring or summer next year at the earliest."
McCormick also again repeated false claims that young people aren't at risk of dying of COVID-19, claiming, "The youth are not at risk of this disease. I know there is a lot of scary news stories out there, but realize that you're much more likely to be killed by lightning than coronavirus if you're a young, healthy person."
"If Rich McCormick were my doctor, I'd get a second opinion," said Bourdeaux campaign manager Shelbi Dantic. "His lies about COVID-19 aren't just negligent — they're downright dangerous. We are approaching the horrific benchmark of 200,000 American lives lost from this disease, and all Rich McCormick has to say about it is a fringe conspiracy theory that people aren't at risk of getting sick from coronavirus anymore."
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Carolyn Bourdeaux is a Professor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the daughter of teachers, a wife and mom, and a public servant who is running for Congress to fight for quality, affordable health care, a world-class education and a government that works for the people. She was the 2018 Democratic nominee for Georgia’s 7th Congressional district, coming within 433 votes of flipping the seat, making it the closest U.S. House race nationwide.
Georgia’s fast-changing 7th Congressional District includes portions of the northeast Atlanta metropolitan area, including portions of Forsyth and Gwinnett counties and cities Peachtree Corners, Berkeley Lake, Sugar Hill, Norcross, Cumming, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Snellville, Lilburn, Suwanee, Grayson, and Buford. Highly watched by national media, this district has emerged as one of the top Democratic pick-up opportunities in the country.