PH Last To Get Herd Immunity If Current Pace Of Vaccinations – UK Think Tank
PH LAST TO GET HERD IMMUNITY – Amid the coronavirus pandemic, countries from across the globe are looking to achieve herd immunity.
This meant that the majority of the population would already be vaccinated against COVID-19. Furthermore, this could signal a shift toward a better normal as businesses reopen leading to a recovery of the economy.
However, in countries such as the Philippines, issues like a lack of vaccines and negative sentiments regarding them continues. Due to this, the government continues to ramp up its vaccination campaign.
But, a think tank from the United Kingdom earlier said that most countries in Asia could achieve herd immunity, despite the new Delta COVID-19 variant next year, except for the Philippines and Vietnam.
In a recent publication, the United Kingdom-based Pantheon Macroeconomic said that a country could achieve herd immunity if 85% of the population is inoculated against COVID-19. Furthermore, the figure takes into account the presence of the new Delta variant first detected in February in India.
Additionally, the think tank’s report on “vaccination rates in emerging Asia” says that with the current rate of vaccinations in emerging Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the Philippines would be last to achieve herd immunity.
According to an article from Inquirer, Miguel Chanco, Senior Asia economist of Pantheon Macroecomics said:
The relatively slow pace of vaccination in the Philippines implies that early 2023 probably is the best the archipelago can hope for
Meanwhile, the Philippines still aims to vaccinated 70-million Filipinos by the end of the year in order to achieve herd immunity. Along with this, more doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive this month.
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