McEnany Denies That ‘Herd Immunity’ Theory Was Considered To Address COVID-19

The White House is pushing back on a report that said officials were considering pursuing a herd-immunity strategy.

During a press conference on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany shot down reports that White House officials considered that theory, “The herd immunity, so-called, theory was something made up in the fanciful minds of the media. That was never something that was ever considered here at the White House.”

“Here at the White House, what we’ve done is race to get a safe and effective vaccine in record time,” she continued.

She went on to argue that White House officials “talk about therapeutics” for the virus.

McEnany also noted that there are 270 clinical trials and 570 “in the planning stages,” and touted the news that studies found remdesivir can help speed up the recovery of COVID-19 patients in hospitals. 

Finally, she said, “The herd immunity theory again was something made up in the media.”

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Her comments come after an August 31 report from The Washington Post 31 that said Dr. Scott Atlas, a new White House pandemic adviser, was advocating for the herd-immunity strategy.

Atlas, a neuroradiologist, has suggested that the U.S. should emulate Sweden’s strategy to combat COVID-19.