A new poll from Gallup found that more than 1 billion people across the world are hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
- This could make it harder to reach herd immunity.
The survey reviewed poll results from 116 countries across the world. In total, close to 68% of people in those countries are willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
- “The study pointed out the people living in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states were the least inclined to get the vaccine,” according to Fox New York.
- “Many countries in these two regions — including most of the Balkans — and former Soviet states also dominate the list of places where people were the least willing to take a coronavirus vaccine if it were available at no cost,” according to Gallup.
Experts have long said the world will reach herd immunity when close to 70% of people would get vaccinated against COVID-19.
But herd immunity might not be something we can actually attain. More coronavirus variants of the coronavirus suggest that there needs to be a high level of immunity against COVID-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Biden administration’s top adviser on the coronavirus, said herd immunity might not be something to even suggest, according to The New York Times.
- “People were getting confused and thinking you’re never going to get the infections down until you reach this mystical level of herd immunity, whatever that number is,” Fauci said. “That’s why we stopped using herd immunity in the classic sense.”
- “Forget that for a second. You vaccinate enough people, the infections are going to go down.”