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Articles on Population immunity

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The best hope of beating the pandemic is to vaccinate as many people as soon as possible. Luca Sola/AFP via Getty Images

COVID-19 herd immunity? It’s not going to happen, so what next?

When politicians and others speak about herd immunity, unfortunately, they are under the misconception that the current tools that we’ve got are adequate to eliminate the virus.
New Zealand’s chief science advisor Dame Juliet Gerrard receiving her first vaccination dose. Hannah Peters/Getty Images

At least four in five New Zealanders will have to be vaccinated before border controls can be fully relaxed

New Zealand will have to vaccinate 80-85% to reach population immunity. Until then, a blanket border re-opening, even if only for vaccinated people, would pose a high risk of new outbreaks.

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