shades fills you in

An August 2021 study said when lockdowns ended, people would have “immunity debt” -- i.e., vulnerable to common illnesses. Read the paper here

The WSJ also worried about that back in 2021. It predicted that once things opened up, we’d be in trouble

Flash forward to 2022-23: RSV and other viruses surged. A doctor on Fox News said immunity debt was responsible

But Vox says this is all wrong. Lockdowns didn’t hurt our immune systems, and getting sick doesn’t make you stronger. Immunity debt just means more people getting sick at the same time

Exactly, says The Irish Times. Immunity debt just means more kids are getting sick at the same time. But they’re not sicker than they would’ve been

McGill U agrees: That 2021 study that coined “immunity debt” is wrong. There’s no evidence that we need to train our immune system

And The Financial Times likewise warns that the whole concept of immunity debt misleads people into being, say, anti-mask

A Substacker offers a different explanation for the RSV wave that has nothing to do with immunity debt: Maybe *COVID* weakened our immune systems