The World Health Organization said on Monday that even with the spread of vaccination programs, collective immunity will not be achieved in 2021.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at the health agency, spoke at a news conference and asked people to continue with strict social distance measures for the rest of the year, because it will take a while to build up that immunity.
“Even with vaccines starting to protect the most vulnerable, we will not achieve any level of population immunity or collective immunity in 2021,” said Swaminathan. “Even if it happens in some pockets, in some countries, it is not going to protect people around the world.”
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“Vaccines will arrive,” she continued. “They go to all countries … but for now we must not forget that there are [public health] measures that work. “
These measures include social distance, wearing masks and proper hygiene.
Herd immunity – which is usually obtained through vaccination – occurs when a sufficient number of people in a population have the necessary antibodies to prevent infection, thus preventing its spread. Experts estimate that about 75% of the population will be needed to achieve collective immunity.
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Dr. Bruce Aylward, advisor to the WHO director-general, called on the global community to ensure that all countries have access to vaccines.
He added that the UN health agency expects coronavirus vaccinations to begin this or next month in some of the world’s poorest countries.
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“We can’t do this alone,” said Aylward.
Fox News’ Madeline Farber and the Associated Press contributed to this report