UN: COVID-19 Herd Immunity Unlikely in 2021

By MARIA CHENG and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization’s chief scientist warned that even as numerous countries start rolling out vaccination programs to stop COVID-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year. At a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said it was critical countries and their populations maintain strict social distancing and other outbreak control measures for the foreseeable future. In recent weeks, Britain, the U.S., France, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and others have begun vaccinating millions of their citizens against the coronavirus. Related Breaking the Chain of Survival? The Impact of COVID-19 on Prehospital CareCOVID-19 in Kids — It’s Not a Small Problem “Even as vaccines start protecting the most vulnerable, we’re not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” Swaminathan said. “Even if it happens in a couple of pockets, in a few countries, it’s not going to protect people across the world.” Scientists typically estimate that a vaccination rate of about 70% is needed for herd immunity, where entire populations are protected against a disease. But some fear that the extremely infectious nature of COVID-19 could require a significantly higher threshold. Dr. Bruce Aylward, an adviser to WHO’s director-general, said the U.N. health agency was hoping coronavirus vaccinations might begin later this month or in Febru...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: AP News Coronavirus Source Type: news