New case numbers suggest herd immunity

The media's continued focus on new COVID cases obscures the fact that our objective of "flattening the curve" has been achieved. From the beginning, the idea was to impose measures that would prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed, and it worked.

Temporary hospitals and repositioned hospital ships were unnecessary. Newly produced ventilators went unused. Original death estimates proved to be wrong. Clearly the virus is not disappearing as indicated by the large numbers of "new cases," but the question that we should be asking is: "Are they sick?" Sick enough to require hospitalization, that is. Otherwise the new case number simply shows that we are moving toward herd immunity, which may prove to be our best defense.

Martin Dettmer

Wheaton