
The Cincinnati Enquirer has received an angry backlash from some of its readers this week when it published an editorial advising parents to give their children the coronavirus.
The editorial in question was written by Jack Rubinstein, a physician-scientist at the University of Cincinnati, and it argued that Ohio's current state lockdown is not sustainable and will lead to civic unrest if it continues for much longer.
As an alternative, Rubinstein proposes creating "planned, orderly waves of disease" by infecting young people for whom the disease poses minimal risks.
He acknowledges this is less than ideal, but he also says that there's little likelihood of the government successfully implementing a nationwide test-and-trace plan similar to the ones that have helped keep fatalities low in South Korea and Germany.
"This plan will likely increase the number of people with some degree of immunity and will take advantage of our well-prepared health care system to treat the relatively rare cases where they require hospitalization," he concludes. "If this is done carefully and by relying closely on the medical infrastructure data, other sectors of the population could potentially be opened in stages in order to create small, manageable waves of disease and show the rest of the country once again how Ohio deals with crises."
Rubinstein's editorial did not go over well with many readers, however. Check out some angry reactions below.
@Enquirer https://t.co/pgULhbhiCC— Brendel (@Brendel) 1587097401.0
@ZacTonnis @Enquirer or if it has other effects long-term. like, chicken pox can lie dormant for a few decades and… https://t.co/T2oPXPNzMt— i bless the rains down in castamere (@i bless the rains down in castamere) 1587097890.0
@Enquirer this is why i cancelled my subscription— italian ally 🤌🤌🤌 (@italian ally 🤌🤌🤌) 1587087884.0
@Enquirer Why on earth would you publish this?— Adam Porter (@Adam Porter) 1587090819.0
@Enquirer Exposing my kids would mean exposing me, a diabetic with a compromised immune system, and my mother, a di… https://t.co/90uLxxsKkl— Rebecca Bromels (@Rebecca Bromels) 1587130194.0
@Enquirer This isn’t the chicken pox. There are confirmed cases of people getting the virus for a second time, aft… https://t.co/SIZxeEuKSR— Adam Brown (@Adam Brown) 1587085811.0
@Enquirer No. 🤬 7.5% of kids under 18 in America have asthma. Your willy-nilly disregard for others is going to k… https://t.co/4CcPac3ksI— Mary Freakin' Poppins (@Mary Freakin' Poppins) 1587133423.0
@Enquirer Are y'all with the death cult?— the gang solves the great depression 2.0 🥴 (@the gang solves the great depression 2.0 🥴) 1587095384.0
@Enquirer There is some evidence it causes lasting damage to lungs, heart and liver. Do you want your kids to have… https://t.co/P62jITxorS— Crow (@Crow) 1587132606.0
@Enquirer Are you insane? We don’t know the entire scope of this virus or the effects on children. We aren’t even s… https://t.co/Ou9oJQjjx6— Dawn M.🇺🇸 (@Dawn M.🇺🇸) 1587101370.0