Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe

The New York Times (NYT) (05/03/2021)
  • While half of US adults have received at least one (1) dose of the Covid vaccine, declining daily vaccination rates make widespread herd immunity increasingly unlikely.
  • Last year, experts believed that 60-70% US ‘herd immunity’ via natural infection and vaccination was achievable.
  • However, new more-contagious variants have pushed the immunity threshold up to 80% Herd immunity is further complicated by surveys showing 30% of the population still reluctant to be vaccinated.
  • Vaccinating the most vulnerable and making Covid manageable is now the primary goal.