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The WHO condemns the application of the concept of community immunity to Covid-19 as “dangerous”, warning that “nobody is safe”.
“This is a dangerous epidemic, the community’s number one enemy. We have repeated it many times,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, director of the Health Organization’s Medical Emergencies Program. world (WHO), speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 11. “No one can be safe until everyone is safe. So I think the idea that some countries can loosen measures and suddenly gain miraculous community immunity, give up for some older people on that journey, really a very dangerous calculation.” .
Dr. Mike Ryan at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, May 11. Image: AFP
“Community immunity” is the term used to refer to people who become immune to a contagious disease through vaccination. For example, when 90-95% of the population is vaccinated, this rate is sufficient to protect those who cannot be vaccinated, such as children under the age of vaccination.
Some experts believe that the threshold for Covid-19 community immunity is when 60% of the population is infected with the virus. However, Dr. Ryan said that “people are not a herd” and that the concept of community immunity is often used to calculate how much the population will need a vaccine.
“Responsible nations will take care of all their people. They will respect all members of society and will try to do everything possible to protect people’s health, while protecting their backgrounds.” economy and other things. We need to determine our priorities as soon as we enter the next phase of this war, “he added.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, leader of the WHO’s Covid-19 response team, said initial research data showed very low levels of the population with Covid-19 antibodies.
Initially, it also pursued the idea of ”community immunity” by taking a slow approach with Covid-19, refusing to enact drastic control measures, which were supposed to “release” the virus. for a significant percentage of the population to build immunity.
However, on March 23, the UK abandoned the strategy and imposed a blockade at the national level, as the number of cases and deaths continued to skyrocket and the government was criticized for its anti-Covid-19 approach. It is currently the third largest epidemic region in the world with more than 220,000 people infected and more than 32,000 people dying of nCoV.
Staff carry the body of Covid-19 to a temporary morgue in the Birmingham, England parking lot on April 21. Image: Reuters
This British decision has met criticism from Sweden, the Nordic nation also pursues the goal of “community immunity” with a soft anti-Covid-19 strategy. They do not impose drastic blocking orders, relying on people’s self-awareness and self-sufficiency rather than forced sanctions.
The well-known epidemiologist Anders Tegnell estimates that around a quarter of people in Stockholm can already have immunity. He said the Swedish capital could create community immunity in a few weeks.
However, the results published by Sweden face much controversy, as many experts point out that the death rate of nCoV in this country is higher than that of neighboring countries of similar population size. including Denmark, Norway and Finland, countries that apply stricter policies to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. Sweden has registered more than 27,000 infections and more than 3,300 deaths.
Thanh Tam (Follow Telegraph)
