‘At least 70% of population need to be vaccinated for herd immunity’
Study shows that at least 70% of the population need to be vaccinated if the ‘herd immunity’ for COVID-19 is to be achieved to break the transmission chain with efficacious vaccines that prevent infection. Given the level of vaccine hesitancy, this is a daunting task for the country. Therefore, at the moment, preventing death and severe COVID by vaccinating the priority groups should be the target, asserts Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad (IIPH), Director G.V.S. Murthy on Sunday.
While the government had permitted Russian ‘Sputnik’ vaccine for emergency use, he expects more permissions in the offing and certainly bats for clearing the path for “effective proven vaccines that have undergone Phase 3 clinical trials in other countries and have validated efficacy”. This has to be considered for India due to the sheer population size, rapid transmission of COVID and the need to stockpile vac