What Is Herd Immunity For Covid?

Heard immunity is a topic that is much more relevant now that serveral Covid-19 vaccines have been approved and hundreds of millions have been administered. The novel coronavirus or covid-19 has been the most disruptive cirsis in the world in modern history. It has caused a lot of death, starvation, job losses, family separation, travel bans, school closures, mandatory mask wearing, just to name a few of the effects the pandemic has generated.

The World Health Organization WHO has been posting weekly epidemiological updates, and according to their data, we can say that this pandemic is far from over. From January 3, 2020 to May 6, 2021, there have been 32,210,817 reported confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the United States of America, with 573,722 deaths as of May 6th. While globally speaking, there are already 155,665,214 confirmed cases of covid-19 with 3,250,648 deaths, as of May 6, 2021.

SPECIAL OFFER

According to data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday nearly 111 million people, or 33.4 percent of the US population, are completely vaccinated, and nearly 45 percent of the population, or more than 150 million people, have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. With an overall 254,779,333 doses of covid-19 vaccines that have been administered in the United States and about 327,124,625 or 78% total doses have been delivered. 

Herd immunity for COVID:

The simpler explanation of herd immunity refers to the fact that a large part of a population is immune to a disease, making the spread of the disease almost impossible. Immunity is obtained by the administration of a vaccine. When someone gets vaccinated, they protect not just themselves but also those around them from infection. The virus will have a tougher time spreading as more people in a population become vaccinated. 

We can be assured that the United States has achieved herd immunity when the majority of our populations are vaccinated, there are no pockets of low immunity, and the virus is no longer circulating, even when we lift measures like face masking and social distancing. However, if other parts of the world haven’t reached herd immunity, variants that evade our immune system can emerge, posing another threat to our country.

Our goal by July 4th is to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot — and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated. It’s another huge goal, and a serious step toward a return to normal.

Get vaccinated, keep following CDC guidance. We can do this.

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 4, 2021

President Joe Biden declared on Tuesday that by July 4, 2021, 70 percent of the adult population in the United States would have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. According to the IHME, the target will be met by the end of May while according to the modelers, 185 million Americans, or about 88 percent of the adult population, will be vaccinated by September. 

By the end of 2021, it is expected to have at least 60-70% or 220 million people in the US population receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, with children being the last to receive it. 

With more variants being found around the world, such as B.1.617, which has caused a surge in cases in India, officials are rushing to persuade Americans to get vaccinated and help the country achieve herd immunity before vaccine-resistant variants emerge and enter the United States. 

Pfizer/BioNTech stated on Friday morning that it has started the process of getting full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine for people aged 16 and above. This is the first Covid-19 vaccine to be evaluated by the FDA for complete approval in the United States. 

In addition, the United States prepares for the expected emergency use authorization of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use on kids between the ages of 12-15 years old, next week. 

According to the New York Times and CNN, the FDA is expected to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents within the next week. The FDA approval would allow the Pfizer-BioNTech shots to be provided to children aged 12 to 15 years old once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off. In a recent study, Pfizer-BioNTech demonstrated that the two-dose vaccine was exceptionally safe and effective in 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15. In the study, all 16 COVID-19-infected adolescents received the placebo vaccine. 

The covid-19 vaccine in the United States – Statistics and Facts

The United States currently leads the world in overall vaccines administered, with more on the way. The federal government monitors the distribution in the United States. Both the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines, as well as the Moderna’s shot, require two doses taken in several weeks. J&J’s inoculation only needs one dose.