No place on Earth is anywhere close to herd immunity for the coronavirus

 

  • Countries hit hard by the coronavirus, like Spain, France, and the US, are finding that even devastating waves of coronavirus infections haven’t gotten their populations anywhere near the threshold of herd immunity.
  • An estimated 5% of these countries’ populations have coronavirus antibodies — a far cry from the 50-70% required to stop the virus’s spread.
  • Experts warn against a “very brutal arithmetic” that sacrifices lives for the goal of herd immunity.

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Populations achieve that benchmark when enough people become infected and recover — thereby developing pathogen-fighting antibodies — to prevent the virus from spreading. For COVID-19, experts estimate the threshold for herd immunity may be as high as 70% of the population.

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So far, the first wave of infections has left more than 300,000 people dead worldwide and devastated the global economy. But even the hardest-hit countries are finding that scarcely 10% of their populations have walked away with antibodies.

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Tens of thousands are dead, but only 5% of the population may be immune

 

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Article URL : https://news.yahoo.com/no-place-earth-anywhere-close-224000083.html