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Rabat – Anthony Fauci, the head of America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that the US should consider vaccinating children to remain on schedule with its plan to reach herd immunity by the end of 2021.
Appearing in front of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on Thursday, March 18, Anthony Fauci said that it is highly probable that vaccinating children could accelerate herd immunity.
Fauci, a highly-regarded immunologist who has served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, became a household name in the US in 2020 as the country grappled with the COVID-19 crisis.
In his Senate hearing, Fauci suggested that herd immunity is one of the surest ways to effectively stop the spread of a virus.
He said: “We don’t really know what that magical point of herd immunity is, but we do know that if we get the overwhelming population vaccinated, we’re going to be in good shape. We ultimately would like to get and have to get children into that mix.”
Previously, Fauci estimated that 70% and 85% of the population should be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.
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He also said that the US could start vaccinating high school students in the fall.
“For high school students, it looks like they will be available to get vaccinated in the beginning of the fall, very likely for the fall term,” he said in a hearing session before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The US has so far vaccinated 81,415,769 people, while 44,141,228 got their second dose of the vaccine.
With the pandemic not fully tackled and vaccination figures still far from herd immunity levels, Fauci insisted on respecting preventative measures, such as the wearing of masks and other social distancing regulations.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the US reached 30.5 million, including 22,754,252 recoveries, and 555,314 deaths.
In Morocco, meanwhile, the government intends to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating a total of 80% of the population in 3 to 5 months. The country launched its vaccination campaign on January 28, and has since vaccinated 4,264,168 people.
