Thread by @AntonyRobart

One can understand why much of the public is confused. Over the past few days in the media and social media, some Dr’s & commentators have rebuffed the idea of #immunitydebt. Said on this forum: ‘idiocy’, ‘nonsense’, anti-science’, ‘not a thing’. Here’s the thing…1/

In The Lancet: ‘a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is the world's highest-impact general medical journal, and one of the oldest…founded in England in 1823’. Now I’m not a physician but this journal seems pretty reliable. From Sept. 2022 thelancet.com/journals/lanin… 2/

Entitled: ‘Quantifying the RSV immunity debt following Covid -19’ — ‘Out-of-season RSV resurgences are explained by decreased population immunity following a prolonged period of minimal RSV exposure, also referred to as RSV immunity debt…’ 3/

‘…It is important to quantify these effects of prolonged periods of low exposure over time. Out-of-season RSV resurgences pose major challenges to health-care systems already strained by two and a half years of pandemic.’ 4/

Or this entitled, ‘RSV Paying the Immunity Debt with Interest’. from Oct 2021: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…. ‘…concerns have been raised about the potential for more severe RSV epidemics in the future due to a so-called immunity debt, a term proposed to describe…’ 5/

‘…the paucity of protective immunity arising from extended periods of low exposure to a given pathogen leaving a greater proportion of the population susceptible to the disease.’ ‘In countries with a higher COVID-19 burden, particularly those in the northern hemisphere that…’6/

‘…are entering their third winter since the start of this pandemic the pressures resulting from RSV epidemics might be even greater than has been seen in New Zealand.’ 7/

I ask honestly and with an open mind. What is the answer? Who should you believe? Does it change the present situation? Perhaps not- but it provides opportunities to learn. Lessons that should have been learned earlier. #RSV #COVID19. 8/8