CONTROVERSY has erupted in the UK over an open letter urging a "herd immunity" approach to COVID-19, after some of the supposedly eminent medicos who signed it were found to be fake.
The so-called Great Barrington Declaration was claimed to have been backed by more than 15,000 scientists and health professionals from around the world, but Sky News has analysed the signatories and found supporters include someone called "Dr Johnny Bananas" and "Professor Cominic Dummings".
The name of another supposed specialist promoting the measure was "Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena" - the first verse of the popular Macarena dance song - while others in the list included a graduate of "the university of your mum".
The online declaration has also been signed by academics from a range of eminent academic institutions across the globe, but allows anyone to add their name to the list if they provide an email address, home city, postcode and name.
The declaration calls for a "focused protection" approach to COVID-19 as an alternative to lockdowns until a vaccine is available, saying the economic impact of such measures will cause "irreparable damage".
However other experts have described it as "a very bad idea" with vulnerable people likely to suffer disproportionately if the virus is allowed to run rampant.
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