11 March 2021, 8:43 am EST By
The coronavirus pandemic has only gotten worse in some countries, with increasing numbers of infection rates that continue to surge over time. We already have COVID-19 vaccines at the moment, but people are hoping that the said herd immunity can happen in the middle of this catastrophic event.
The word herd is not only applicable to groups of hoofed animals. In the case of the ravaging virus, groups of humans are also considered a herd. The public is hoping that as time passes by, more people would grow immune to the novel coronavirus, with or without the vaccine.
British researchers warn it will take months before COVID-19 vaccination programs have impact on pandemic Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
Getting audio file . This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
A group of researchers in Britain has warned that it will take months before mass vaccination programs have an impact in controlling the pandemic and that the threshold for herd immunity may never be reached because new variants of the virus are so contagious.
COVID-19: How much herd immunity is enough?
Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward. New York Times December 25, 2020 / 11:12 AM IST
File image: Crowds of shoppers walk under the Christmas lights in Regent Street, in London on December 12, 2020. (Image: AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
At what point does a country achieve herd immunity? What portion of the population must acquire resistance to the coronavirus, either through infection or vaccination, in order for the disease to fade away and life to return to normal?