Why Covid herd immunity could be ‘twice as high as first thought’

Scientists say some people may be resistant even if they haven’t had the new coronavirus

Blood samples in a laboratory
Scientists say some people may be resistant even if they haven’t had the new coronavirus
(Image credit: Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty)

Two new scientific studies have offered some much-needed hope in the battle against Covid-19, by suggesting that immunity to the disease may be much higher than previously thought.

Although coronavirus antibody testing has found that levels are low even in the cities worst hit by the pandemic, other forms of immune response seem to be more widespread.

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Holden Frith is The Week’s digital director. He also makes regular appearances on “The Week Unwrapped”, speaking about subjects as diverse as vaccine development and bionic bomb-sniffing locusts. He joined The Week in 2013, spending five years editing the magazine’s website. Before that, he was deputy digital editor at The Sunday Times. He has also been TheTimes.co.uk’s technology editor and the launch editor of Wired magazine’s UK website. Holden has worked in journalism for nearly two decades, having started his professional career while completing an English literature degree at Cambridge University. He followed that with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. A keen photographer, he also writes travel features whenever he gets the chance.