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COVID-19: Trying for herd immunity without vaccine ‘unethical’ and ‘unachievable[
www.bioworld.com]
A large epidemiological study published in the July 6, 2020, advance online issue of The Lancet found that most individuals who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 developed antibodies to the virus, confirming that infection usually results in at least a short-term immune response.
However, the results of antibody testing also showed that at least a third of SARS-CoV-2 infections were asymptomatic, and in some of those patients, the antibody response waned more quickly, potentially leaving them vulnerable to reinfection.
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Within Europe, Sweden’s attempt to achieve herd immunity via avoiding lockdowns for the general population has resulted in one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates of the world. But as of the end of April, around 7.4% of the Swedish population had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.
In a commentary that was published along with the ENE-COVID study results, researchers at the University of Geneva’s Center for Emerging Viral Diseases wrote that “any proposed approach to achieve herd immunity through natural infection is not only highly unethical, but also unachievable.”
The authors of the study themselves made the same point. “Despite the high impact of COVID-19 in Spain” – which was the epicenter of the European outbreak after Lombardy, and has had the highest number of diagnosed cases of any country in the European Union – “prevalence estimates remain low and are clearly insufficient to provide herd immunity,” they wrote. Such herd immunity “cannot be achieved without accepting the collateral damage of many deaths in the susceptible population and overburdening of health systems.”
