With the U.S. FDA’s approval of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 11, the question becomes how many people will need to get it in order to stop community spread and end virus lockdowns.
“Most people think it will be about 70 to 75 percent of our population that needs to get vaccinated until we achieve herd immunity,” Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told the Northern California Record. “It’s going to be a big task but it’s doable.”
Herd immunity is defined as enough people having protection — because they’ve been vaccinated or have already been infected — that it prevents the virus from causing disease.
Benjamin stressed that even with the vaccine’s high efficacy, people will need to continue masking up and otherwise following safety protocols for at least the next several months.
After the first shot, recipients will have roughly 50 percent immunity; after the second shot three weeks later is when the vaccine becomes 95 percent effective at virus protection, Benjamin said.
Over the weekend, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup completed its own evaluation of the vaccine, concluding it is safe and effective.
“With shipments of the vaccine soon on their way to California, we are working hand-in-hand with local public health officials to get the vaccine out to the first phase of recipients,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised nthat healthcare workers and long-term care residents and staff are scheduled to receive it first.
“We’re bracing for some rough times ahead; before it can be distributed, we’re going to have tough times in hospitals and ICUs in California and across the country,” Anthony York, a spokesman for the California Medical Association, which represents 50,000 physicians statewide, told the Record. “While it is encouraging, we hope good news continues to snowball in the next few months.”
CDC director Robert Redfield said vaccinations will be able to start as soon as Monday, CNBC reported.
“People should take the vaccine because it will help us get back to normal,” Benjamin said.
Another COVID-19 vaccine, produced by Moderna, could be approved later this week.