Herd immunity, Chrysants: “It is not certain that it will be achieved”

For Andrea Crisanti “it is absolutely not certain that herd immunity against Covid will be achieved. If children under 18 are not vaccinated it will be difficult to obtain it. Furthermore, we do not know when this immunity lasts, we do not have precise data. And if it only lasts 8 or 9 months the carousel starts again, it will be necessary to immunize several million people a month. In any case it is not a fundamental goal, in the sense that even if it is not reached, but close to close levels, the positive effect of vaccination will be there. same “, says Andrea the director of the Institute of Microbiology of the University of Padua to Adnkronos Salute. Read also The really important thing continues Crisanti is, instead, that “the elderly are vaccinated. Thus the social danger of the disease decreases, reducing serious cases, deaths and pressure on health facilities”. We need to have realistic perspectives but able to protect the fragile. “Here in England – says the virologist who works between Padua and London – they have vaccinated over 70% of the population with a single dose. And in any case, there have been many cases for 5 and a half months and herd immunity has not yet been reached. “. In perspective, according to the virologist,” we will necessarily go towards an endemic presence of the virus. Eliminating it completely, at this point, is impossible. It is very difficult to eradicate a pathogen, we have succeeded only for smallpox and we are close for the polio. And it took tens of years, “he concludes.