The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that COVID-19 vaccination coverage of at least 80 percent is needed to significantly lower the risk that “imported” coronavirus cases like those linked to new variants could spawn a cluster or a wider outbreak.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergency chief, told a news conference that ultimately, “high levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic.”
Ryan acknowledged that data wasn’t fully clear about what percentage of vaccination coverage was necessary to fully have an impact on transmission.
“But ... it’s certainly north of 80 percent coverage to be in a position where you could be significantly affecting the risk of an imported case potentially generating secondary cases or causing a cluster or an outbreak,” he said.
Meanwhile, many rich countries have been moving to vaccinate teenagers and children — who have a lower risk of more dangerous cases of COVID-19 than the elderly or people with comorbidities — even as those same countries face pressure to share vaccines with poorer ones that lack them.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergency chief, told a news conference that ultimately, “high levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic.”
Ryan acknowledged that data wasn’t fully clear about what percentage of vaccination coverage was necessary to fully have an impact on transmission.
“But ... it’s certainly north of 80 percent coverage to be in a position where you could be significantly affecting the risk of an imported case potentially generating secondary cases or causing a cluster or an outbreak,” he said.
Meanwhile, many rich countries have been moving to vaccinate teenagers and children — who have a lower risk of more dangerous cases of COVID-19 than the elderly or people with comorbidities — even as those same countries face pressure to share vaccines with poorer ones that lack them.
