Written by Dan Gray on January 9, 2021 Fact checked by Maria Gifford
Experts say achieving herd immunity to COVID-19 will be a step-by-step process that will rely heavily on how many people get vaccinated. Luis Alvarez/Getty Images
While the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is encouraging, a small percentage of Americans have been vaccinated so far.
Most models predict that a majority – 60 or 70 percent – of people in a population need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
Herd immunity without vaccinations is possible, but it would cause millions of people to die as well as overwhelm the healthcare system.
The path to normalcy will be gradual, but positive results will start to be seen as more people are vaccinated.