Newsbytes
  • India
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Entertainment
  • Auto
  • Lifestyle
  • Inspirational
  • Career
  • Bengaluru
  • Delhi
  • Mumbai
  • Videos
  • Find Cricket Statistics
Hindi
More
Newsbytes
Hindi
Newsbytes
User Placeholder

Hi,

Logout


India
Business
World
Politics
Sports
Science
Entertainment
Auto
Lifestyle
Inspirational
Career
Bengaluru
Delhi
Mumbai
Videos
Find Cricket Statistics

More Links
  • Elections 2019
  • Videos

Download Android App

Follow us on
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube
 
Home / News / World News / WHO: COVID-19 herd immunity unlikely in 2021 despite vaccines
  • World

    WHO: COVID-19 herd immunity unlikely in 2021 despite vaccines

    Srijita Sen <br/><i>(Sourced from PTI)</i>
    Written by
    Srijita Sen
    (Sourced from PTI)
    Mail
    Last updated on Jan 12, 2021, 12:11 pm
    WHO: COVID-19 herd immunity unlikely in 2021 despite vaccines
  • The World Health Organization's chief scientist warned that even as numerous countries have started rolling out vaccination programs to stop COVID-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year.

    At a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said it was critical that countries and their populations maintain strict social distancing and other outbreak control measures for the foreseeable future.

  • In this article
    'Herd immunity not going to protect people across the world' Why is it difficult to achieve herd immunity? WHO aiming at a 'roll-out plan' for developing countries COVAX faces shortage of logistical help from donor countries Case spike was detected before the new variant's detection Holidays majorly responsible for the rise in numbers No evidence that variants are driving any element of severity
  • Details

    'Herd immunity not going to protect people across the world'

    'Herd immunity not going to protect people across the world'
  • Britain, the US, France, Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and others have already begun vaccinating millions of their citizens.

    "Even as vaccines start protecting the most vulnerable, we're not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021," Swaminathan said.

    She added that it's not going to protect people across the world even if it happens in a few countries.

  • Scientists speak

    Why is it difficult to achieve herd immunity?

    Why is it difficult to achieve herd immunity?
  • For an entire population to be protected, a vaccination rate of about 70% is typically required, scientists estimate.

    But some fear that the extremely infectious nature of COVID-19 could require a significantly higher threshold.

    Further, Dr. Bruce Aylward, an advisor to WHO's Director-General, said the UN health agency is hoping that coronavirus vaccinations begin by February in some of the world's poorer countries.

  • Vaccination drive

    WHO aiming at a 'roll-out plan' for developing countries

  • Aylward said, WHO was aiming to have "a roll-out plan" detailing which developing countries might start receiving vaccines next month.

    However, he called for the global community to do more to ensure all countries have access to vaccines.

    "We cannot do that on our own," Aylward said, adding that WHO needed the cooperation of vaccine manufacturers, in particular, to start immunizing vulnerable populations.

  • Support

    COVAX faces shortage of logistical help from donor countries

    COVAX faces shortage of logistical help from donor countries
  • Notably, the majority of the world's COVID-19 vaccine supply has already been bought by rich countries.

    The UN-backed initiative COVAX, which is aiming to deliver shots to developing countries, is short of vaccines, money and logistical help as donor countries scramble to protect their own citizens, particularly in the wake of newly detected COVID-19 variants, which many officials are blaming for increased spread.

  • Rise in cases

    Case spike was detected before the new variant's detection

  • WHO, however, said that "the increased mixing of people" caused most of the recent spikes in transmission.

    WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove said that the spike in cases in numerous countries was detected before the new variants were identified, and noted that during the summer, COVID-19 cases were down to single digits in most countries across Europe.

  • Information

    Holidays majorly responsible for the rise in numbers

  • "We lost the battle because we changed our mixing patterns over the summer, into the fall and especially around Christmas and the new year," Van Kerkhove said, explaining that people had multiple contacts with family and friends over the holidays, leading to rise in numbers.

  • Details

    No evidence that variants are driving any element of severity

  • Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO's Executive Director of Health Emergencies Programme, said, while there is some evidence that variants may be speeding the spread of COVID-19, "there is no evidence that variants are driving any element of severity."

    He said the variants shouldn't alter countries' strategies for controlling outbreaks.

    "It doesn't change what you do, but it gives the virus some new energy," Ryan said.

  • World Health Organization
  • Vaccine
  • United Nations (UN)
  • Coronavirus
  • Coronavirus News
  •  
Latest News
  • 2021 Bajaj Pulsar 220F gets an updated instrument cluster
    2021 Bajaj Pulsar 220F gets an updated instrument cluster
    Auto
  • Realme X7 series to debut in India on February 4
    Realme X7 series to debut in India on February 4
    Science
  • Court bars coercive step against Karan Johar in 'KWK' case
    Court bars coercive step against Karan Johar in 'KWK' case
    Entertainment
  • OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G's update brings nifty improvements: Details here
    OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G's update brings nifty improvements: Details here
    Science
Next News Article
Share
Cancel

Want to share it with your friends too?

Facebook Whatsapp Twitter Linkedin
Copied

Love World news?

Subscribe to stay updated.

World Thumbnail
India News Business News World News Politics News Sports News Science News Entertainment News Auto News Lifestyle News Inspirational News
Career News Bengaluru News Delhi News Mumbai News Cricket News Facebook Donald Trump Hollywood News WhatsApp Bollywood News
Elon Musk Saif Ali Khan Football News Vaccine Congress Google Amazon Apple Manchester United Sensex
Premier League Joe Biden Royal Enfield Porsche Latest Gadget Launch Latest Automobile News IPL 2021 Coronavirus MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ COVAXIN
Latest Tech News
About Us Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Contact Us News News Archive Topics Archive Find Cricket Statistics
Follow us on
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube
All rights reserved © NewsBytes 2021