What It Really Means That the U.S. Won't Reach Herd Immunity Alerts Nurse Natasha Garcia prepares a lollipop and an “I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker for a recipient in a mobile clinic set up in the parking lot of a shopping center in Orange, California. Photo: Jae C. Hong (AP) An article in the New York Times today highlights a growing attitude among public health experts about the near future of the covid-19 pandemic: Herd immunity, at least for the time being, is likely out of reach in the U.S. But as upsetting as that sounds, it doesn’t mean the pandemic won’t be substantially contained, or that Americans won’t be able to largely resume their normal lives this year.