Editorial | Variant fears must not derail Hong Kong jabs push
- Achieving herd immunity is the only way to protect individuals and the wider community, and get our way of life and economy back to normal
Vaccinating the public to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 infections has always been the common goal. This is not only for the protection of individuals and the wider community, but also for the way of life and the economy to get back to normal.
Attempts to hit this target, however, may be distracted by questions over the threshold for immunisation and vaccine efficacies as fast-spreading variants deepen the global health crisis. But the principle remains unchanged.
It is imperative to get as many people vaccinated as possible so curbs can be eased in a way that will not endanger public health.
For the first time, officials have acknowledged that the 70 per cent rate of vaccination would be an attainable goal by late September. This makes further relaxation of health restrictions and reopening of borders with the mainland and Macau closer to reality.
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The global spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19
Medical experts, however, have argued that herd immunity may no longer be a realistic goal, referring to a lower level of protection against the more infectious variants. There has also been suggestion that the public needs to achieve a vaccination rate of more than 90 per cent for social-distancing measures to be further relaxed.