Panama closes in on herd immunity for COVID-19

Panama closes in on herd immunity for COVID-19. 

Panama is just weeks away from attaining herd immunity against COVID-19. The vaccination of more than half the population of 4.2 million has been completed, president Laurentino Cortizo said on Thursday at the U.N.G.A.

Panama was able to act in “foresight” and obtain enough vaccines despite the challenges of global supply, Cortizo said at the gathering held in New York.

“Thanks to this, we’re only a few weeks away from achieving our herd’s immunity level,” Cortizo said, saying the notion that “global immunity” is a must-have objective for everyone.

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Generally, herd immunity is when a significant population is immune to the pathogen through vaccination or previous infection. 

However, health experts have stated that around 70%-80 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to attain a certain degree of herd immunity. 

However, that number can be different.

Panama has taken 7.2 million doses of vaccinations provided by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L). The company has given 5.3 million shots, as per Ministry of Health data.

Panama has reported 465 COVID-19-related cases and 7183 deaths related to the disease.

Some experts questioned the idea of achieving herd immunity based on the potential of coronavirus. It is because it can transform quickly to create new high-quality, transmissible variants.

Health Minister Luis Sucre has attributed Panama’s control of this pandemic to a steady decrease in daily infections, which allowed a gradual reopening of the economy.