In a new study from the University of Southern California, researchers found herd immunity against COVID-19 is unlikely, and coping with the disease will likely hinge on vaccination, treatment and ensuring adequate hospital capacity.
With herd immunity, most people have antibodies from vaccination or prior infection, so a virus has fewer people to infect and stops spreading.
Early in the pandemic, there were hopes that herd immunity would end it, but this new study suggests that’s unlikely.
The team says given that new variants continue to result in significant surges—even in a place like L.A. County which had some of the strictest mask mandates and most expansive testing capacity in the country—we need to pivot our pandemic response from minimizing infections to minimizing the harm from infections.
The researchers estimated that as of April 2021, about 72% of adults in Los Angeles County had antibodies against COVID-19 through vaccination or past infection.
Despite that high rate of people with antibodies, COVID cases in the county have nearly doubled since last April.
The team found black adults and those from lower-income households had far lower rates of protective immunity overall, despite having higher rates of antibodies from past infection.
These communities were hit on both sides: they generally had lower vaccination rates, especially in the first few months that vaccines were available, and they also were harder hit by the earlier waves of COVID.
The pandemic has laid bare severe health disparities in Los Angeles.
The results suggest that policymakers and public health officials should reconsider long-term goals in dealing with COVID-19 and how to make best use of resources.
The team says testing the symptomatic, ensuring access to new treatments and encouraging vaccinations for high-risk populations should be the pillars of our pandemic response going forward.
If you care about Covid, please read studies about green tea that may protect your body as a vaccine, and most effective face-mask practices to reduce spread of COVID-19.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about novel vaccine method to prevent COVID-19 infection, and results showing that your BMI number linked to risks of death and ICU stay in COVID-19.
The study is published in JAMA Network Open. One author of the study is Neeraj Sood.
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