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WHO Chief: Pursuing Herd Immunity Through Coronavirus Exposure 'Unethical'

VOA News

   The head of the World Health Organization is warning against a strategy
   of pursuing herd immunity to stop the coronavirus pandemic, calling the
   idea unethical.

   At a news briefing Monday in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros
   Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health officials should only try to achieve
   immunity through vaccination, not through exposing people to the virus.

   Herd immunity happens when a population is protected from a virus
   because a threshold immunity has been reached in that society.

   "Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a
   strategy for responding to an outbreak, let alone a pandemic. It's
   scientifically and ethically problematic," Tedros said.

   The WHO estimates that about 10% of the world has contracted the
   coronavirus. It is not yet known what percentage rate of infection is
   needed to achieve herd immunity.

   Tedros noted that to obtain herd immunity from measles, about 95% of
   the population must be vaccinated, while for polio, the threshold is
   about 80%.

   Virus can survive 28 days

   In another development Monday, scientists in Australia discovered that
   the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, can survive on
   solid common surfaces for as long as 28 days.

   In a study published in Virology Journal, researchers at CSIRO
   (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization),
   Australia's national science agency, found the SARS-CoV-2 virus was
   "extremely robust," surviving on smooth surfaces at 20 degrees Celsius,
   compared to the flu virus, which lasts for 17 days in the same
   circumstances. The scientists at CSIRO also found the SARS-CoV-2 virus
   stopped being infectious after about 24 hours at 40 degrees Celsius.

   The scientists at CSIRO found the novel coronavirus can survive on such
   common surfaces as paper banknotes, glass and stainless steel.

   In Europe

   In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new coronavirus
   alert system for the country during a speech in Parliament. Instead of
   a blanket nationwide lockdown, the government's new system designates
   areas as medium, high and very high risk.

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