In the recent Beacon a letter writer stated that 99% of the people who catch the coronavirus actually survive the disease, and that is actually correct. If you look at Montana’s statistics, about 1% of the people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have succumbed to it. It doesn’t sound like much does it? So let’s look at some simple math. In order for Montana alone to reach herd immunity, 70% of the population would need to get the disease. With Montana’s population of roughly 1 million people, about 700,000 people will need to get the sickness to reach herd immunity. If only 1% of those people actually die from the disease, that means 7,000 people will die from COVID-19 in Montana. That’s acceptable? Better hope the vaccine gets here soon.
Ron Hvizdak
Eureka