CNN ANALYSIS: US could reach herd immunity by summer

posted by mike kraft on Sun, 2021-03-07 20:21

US could reach herd immunity by summer through vaccinations alone, CNN analysis finds If coronavirus vaccines continue at the current pace, the US could see 70%-85% of the population immunized by September -- a level that should provide herd immunity, a CNN analysis shows. Deidre McPhillips, CNN CNN

(CNN) The pace of Covid-19 vaccine administration in the US continues to improve, each day bringing the country closer to herd immunity -- the point at which enough people are protected against a disease that it cannot spread.

This week, President Joe Biden said that the US will have enough vaccine for every adult by the end of May, and a CNN analysis of federal data shows that herd immunity is likely not far behind.

At the current pace of about 2 million shots per day -- the latest seven-day average of doses administered reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the US could reach herd immunity by summer through vaccinations alone. It will likely be even sooner, if factoring in individuals who may have some natural immunity due to prior infection.

Herd immunity thresholds for Covid-19 are only estimates at this point. But experts generally agree that somewhere between 70% and 85% of the population must be protected to suppress the spread, a range that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has recently cited. ...

At the current pace of about 2 million doses per day, including 100 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 70% of the US population could be fully vaccinated around the end of July and 85% by mid-September, according to a CNN analysis. ...

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