Herd immunity achievable if more get the jab, says vaccine panel chair

Chairman of the government advisory panel on Covid vaccines, Professor Wallace Lau Chak-sing, said herd immunity could be achieved with two-thirds of HK's population vaccinated.

In an article in the latest issue of the Hong Kong Medical Journal, Lau pointed out that assuming each Covid patient on average will spread the disease to three other healthy individuals, it would take at least 60 to 70 percent of the city’s population in order to achieve herd immunity.

“Especially when the mutated virus has been detected locally, Hong Kong must boost its vaccination rate to reach the number as soon as possible,” he wrote.

The government advisor also took the UK, USA, and Isreal as examples, saying that the infection rate and death rate have dropped significantly after these countries have commenced their vaccination programs.

He said getting vaccinated is one way to put a stop to the pandemic, but stressed that only 4.7 percent of the world’s population were vaccinated by now.

With only a handful of drug manufacturers producing the costly Covid vaccines, Lau said it would take a long time until the developing countries can get their hands on the Covid vaccines.

He stressed that under the fast-changing pandemic, “no one is safe, until everyone is.”
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