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

[LovingA2andMI]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: New York Times

Early in the pandemic, when vaccines for the coronavirus were still just a glimmer on the horizon, the term “herd immunity” came to signify the endgame: the point when enough Americans would be protected from the virus so we could be rid of the pathogen and reclaim our lives.

Now, more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable — at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever.

Instead, they are coming to the conclusion that rather than making a long-promised exit, the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/health/covid-heard-immunity-vaccine.html?smid=tw-share

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And this comment, seems like a bit of a flip flop of sorts:

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden administration’s top adviser on Covid-19, acknowledged the shift in experts’ thinking.

“People were getting confused and thinking you’re never going to get the infections down until you reach this mystical level of herd immunity, whatever that number is,” he said.

“That’s why we stopped using herd immunity in the classic sense,” he added. “I’m saying: Forget that for a second. You vaccinate enough people, the infections are going to go down.”

Considering he said this in December 24, 2020....

Recently, a figure to whom millions of Americans look for guidance — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, an adviser to both the Trump administration and the incoming Biden administration — has begun incrementally raising his herd-immunity estimate.

In the pandemic’s early days, Dr. Fauci tended to cite the same 60 to 70 percent estimate that most experts did. About a month ago, he began saying “70, 75 percent” in television interviews. And last week, in an interview with CNBC News, he said “75, 80, 85 percent” and “75 to 80-plus percent.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/24/health/herd-immunity-covid-coronavirus.html

Oh well.....

[bearsfootball516]

1. I always thought it was weird when I saw charts showing that at the current pace...

Immunizations would reach 70 percent by August, 80 percent by September, 85 by October, etc., when it was clear there's a solid 30-35 percent of the population that will NEVER get the vaccine.

[Omaha Steve]

2. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

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