The United States may not get to herd immunity if many Americans refuse to get a coronavirus vaccine that's around 70 percent effective, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an interview with CNN spoke about how effective a COVID-19 vaccine might be, noting that this remains unclear but that he'd "settle" for one being about 70 or 75 percent effective since "that would bring you to that level of what would be herd immunity level." Herd immunity, as the Mayo Clinic explains, "occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely."
This prompted a question from CNN's Elizabeth Cohen about whether the U.S. would be able to get to herd immunity if a coronavirus vaccine is about 70 or 75 percent effective like Fauci said and if around a third of Americans refuse to get it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Unlikely," Fauci said.
Cohen pointed to some polls indicating how many Americans either say they wouldn't get a coronavirus vaccine or aren't sure; in a May CNN poll, for example, about a third of respondents said they wouldn't try to get the vaccine.
Fauci in the interview noted it's important to get "people to understand that we're doing everything we can to show that it's safe and that it's effective, and it's for the good of them as individuals and in society to take the vaccine," but given the "anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccine feeling among some people in this country," there's "a lot of work to do." Brendan Morrow
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
October 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include peace in Palestine, government playoffs, and barking up Pam Bondi's tree
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
