Covid-19: herd immunity will not be achieved in 2021

02-09-2021 by Mirai

Despite the proliferation of vaccines to fight the virus, the World Health Organization does not believe in herd immunity for this year.

According to the scientific director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Soumya Swaminathan, herd immunity against Covid-19 will not be reached in 2021. "We are not going to achieve herd immunity by 2021," he said in Geneva, highlighting the importance of continuing to apply protective measures such as physical distancing, hand washing and the use of a mask to control the pandemic.

He praised the "incredible progress" made by scientists who have managed to develop several safe and effective vaccines against Covid-19 in less than a year. But, he emphasized, its deployment "takes time." "It takes time to produce large-scale doses, not just millions, but billions," he added, asking "to have a little patience."

"The vaccines will reach all countries"

Soumya Swaminathan assured that eventually, "the vaccines will reach all countries." "But in the meantime, we must not forget that there are measures that work," he recalled. According to her, it will be necessary to continue taking health and social measures to limit the transmission of the virus "at least until the end of this year."