Amidst its ongoing fight against COVID-19, a considerable drop in cases in India has been observed over the past few months. However, while there is some cautious optimism, the emergence of new variants is cause for concern. India’s fight against COVID-19: Why are cases dropping? Each day, at the peak of its outbreak, the country […]
herd immunity
2021 will not see herd immunity, WHO says
Despite countries the world over rolling out immunisation programmes, herd immunity is unlikely to be achieved this year according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” said WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan. This is despite the “incredible progress” made […]
Experts warn against pursuing herd immunity
The idea promoted by some of lifting the quarantine measures and allowing COVID-19 to spread all but unchecked — thereby in theory causing a rapid spread and a rapid development of population immunity — in hopes of leading to herd immunity has been condemned by notable health experts. Prominent public health expert and advisor to […]
Coronavirus: Quarantine or herd immunity?
India is now in its third week of a quarantine first imposed on March 24 — some are already eyeing a post-quarantine coronavirus endgame scenario. An article published in The Hindustan Times has suggested that in place of a quarantine, the concept of herd immunity could be a “more feasible option” moving forward. Such a […]