The head of the Chinese Health Ministry's team tackling the coronavirus outbreak said Wednesday it was crucial to find a vaccine against COVID-19 because there was not enough evidence that so-called herd immunity would work
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2020) The head of the Chinese Health Ministry's team tackling the coronavirus outbreak said Wednesday it was crucial to find a vaccine against COVID-19 because there was not enough evidence that so-called herd immunity would work.
Herd immunity kicks in when enough people in a community acquire immunity against a pathogen, making it harder to find a new host until it eventually fizzles out.
"What's important next is that we don't rely on the so-called 'herd immunity' to resolve this problem. COVID-19 is not a disease that you will obtain immunity after being infected once. We still don't have enough evidence of that," Zhong Nanshan told reporters.
Zhong said at a press conference in Guangzhou that countries should work together to create a vaccine. Russia, Germany, the United States and others have scrambled to develop coronavirus vaccines and treatments.
"The next step is to produce effective vaccines. That's the the most important task right now, which requires excellent international cooperation," the Chinese government's senior medical adviser said.
The number of coronavirus cases in China has been leveling off, with over 81,000 cases having been reported as of Wednesday. Almost 70,000 people have already recovered. The global infection tally has meanwhile passed 200,000 cases.
