Fake names counted as legitimate signatures on controversial herd immunity open letter

A number of fake names have appeared alongside medical professionals in an open letter calling on governments to pursue herd immunity.

The Great Barrington Declaration claims to have been signed by more than 175,000 scientists, medical practitioners and members of the general public however a catalogue of fake names within the document has lead to accusations that it falsely represents scientific backing for the controversial position.

Among the signatures are names such as Dr. Johnny Fartpants, who is registered as a medical and public health scientist in the UK.

Across the pond in the United States is medical practitioner, Dr. Johnny Feel Good and Jonn Smith who has a PhD in “garbage”.

Dr Real Man from Botswana who studied a PhD in “Real Subject at Real University” is also included in the list.

It is understood other names include Dr Johnny Bananas, Dr Person Fakename, Dominic Cummings of Durham Univercity and professor Boris Isacompulsiveliar who studied at Priti Patel Institute for Incompetence, Treason and Xenophobia.

As reported by Sky News, 18 self-declared homeopaths are listed as medical practitioners, despite the fact that homeopathy has no scientific underpinning or clinical evidence to support its use.

In addition, the letter has been signed by more than 100 therapists, including massage therapists, hypnotherapists, psychotherapists and one Mongolian Khöömii Singer who describes himself as a “therapeutic sound practitioner”.

The online letter states that keeping current coronavirus measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause “irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed” and insists the virus is “less dangerous than many other harms” for children.

What is herd immunity?

Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community, know ad the herd, becomes immune to a disease, making its spread from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who are immune.

According to American based academic medical centre, Mayo Clinic, a percentage of the population must be capable of getting a disease in order for it to spread. This is called a threshold proportion.

If the proportion of the population that is immune to the disease is greater than this threshold, the spread of the disease will decline. This is known as the herd immunity threshold.