The first Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for Belgium are defrosted at a hospital. As vaccination against the virus is rolled out around the world, governments will be calculating how much of their people need to receive the vaccine to achieve herd immunity and allow a return to normality. Photo: Fred Sierakowski/Pool via Reuters
Explainer |
What will Covid-19 vaccines achieve? And how much of the population needs to be vaccinated?
- Mass Covid-19 vaccinations aim to achieve herd immunity by stopping the virus spreading. But what portion of a population need immunising to reach it?
- The answer to that question depends on how well vaccination stops transmission of the virus, and whether new, more transmissible strains of the virus emerge
Knowledge |
Coronavirus Vaccine
The first Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for Belgium are defrosted at a hospital. As vaccination against the virus is rolled out around the world, governments will be calculating how much of their people need to receive the vaccine to achieve herd immunity and allow a return to normality. Photo: Fred Sierakowski/Pool via Reuters
