Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Hard News Hard Hitting News Source Global Political News

Covid-19 News

Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID?

Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID-19?

Experts say it’s not likely that the highly transmissible variant — or any other variant — will lead to herd immunity.

“ Herd immunity is an elusive concept and doesn’t apply to coronavirus,” says Dr. Don Milton at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

Herd immunity is when enough of a population is immune to a virus that it’s hard for the germ to spread to those who aren’t protected by vaccination or a prior infection.

For example, herd immunity against measles requires about 95% of a community to be immune. Early hopes of herd immunity against the coronavirus faded for several reasons.

One is that antibodies developed from available vaccines or previous infection dwindle with time. While vaccines offer strong protection against severe illness, waning antibodies mean it’s still possible to get infected — even for those who are boosted.

Then there’s the huge variation in vaccinations. In some low-income countries, less than 5% of the population is vaccinated. Rich countries are struggling with vaccine hesitancy. And young children still aren’t eligible in many places.

As long as the virus spreads, it mutates — helping the virus survive and giving rise to new variants. Those mutants — such as omicron — can become better at evading the protection people have from vaccines or an earlier infection.

Populations are moving toward “herd resistance,” where infections will continue, but people have enough protection that future spikes won’t be as disruptive to society, Milton says.

Many scientists believe COVID-19 will eventually become like the flu and cause seasonal outbreaks but not huge surges.


The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-lifestyle-public-health-c64f8ba0e7885e4686e13a4d76ff49b9

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Business News

PORTO-NOVO, Benin (AP) — For many people in Benin, the forests empowered them before they were born, or in the first months of their...

Business News

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on...

Business News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that...

Health News

Resistant starch is a nondigestible fiber that ferments in the large intestine, and consumption of it has previously been shown to have a positive...

Copyright © 2023 Hard News Herd Hitting in Your Face News Source | World News | Breaking News | US News | Political News Website by Top Search SEO