HEALTH: Herd immuniry a mirage

The idea of ​​letting the Covid-19 virus circulate freely to achieve herd immunity, postulated at the beginning of the pandemic, is increasingly emerging as a dangerous mirage, according to many scientists, some of whom have described it as “mass murder.”

It is about allowing a certain proportion of the population to become infected with the virus so that the pandemic stops on its own, in the absence of new people to infect.

But, after months of health emergencies, “we are very, very far” from reaching that threshold, Frédéric Altare, an immunity specialist at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, told AFP.

The World Health Organization (WHO) made it clear this week: “Never, in the history of public health, has herd immunity been used as a strategy to respond to an epidemic, let alone a pandemic. It is problematic from a scientific and ethical point of view, ”said its CEO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Releasing a dangerous virus, from which many things escape us, is simply unethical. It is not an option, ”he insisted.

The WHO estimates that in most countries, 10% of the population could have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.