Dr. Eran Bendavid, associate professor of medicine at Stanford University, is warning that masking and social distancing are doing long-term damage to our immune systems.
In a op-ed for The Wall Street Journal last week, Bendavid argued that the policies put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 needed to be re-evaluated because they were reducing people’s exposure to microbes, therefore preventing the immune system from training well against other diseases.
“Maintaining good health is often a balancing act. Too much food and we develop obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Too little food and we see stunting and wasting,” Bendavid wrote.
“This kind of equilibrium applies to our interactions with bacteria, viruses, parasites and other microbes. Too much exposure to some microbes leads to disease, and so does too little.”
“The intensification of hygienic policies with the advent of COVID-19 was understandable. But long-term masking, deep cleaning, distancing and isolation can be harmful to health, especially for children, precisely because it reduces exposure to microbes. Hygiene practices have health risks as well as benefits,” he added.
