Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hoping for herd immunity to tackle Covid-19 is ‘ethically problematic’

THE World Health Or­ganization (WHO) chief warned on Monday (12) against just allowing the coronavirus to spread in the hope of achieving so-called herd immuni­ty, saying to do so would be “unethical”.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned against calls in some countries to let Cov­id-19 run its course un­til enough people de­velop the immunity needed to naturally halt its spread.


“Herd immunity is a concept used for vacci­nation, in which a pop­ulation can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached,” he pointed out during a virtual press briefing.

For measles, for in­stance, it is estimated that if 95 per cent of the population is vaccinat­ed, the remaining five per cent will also be protected from the spread of the virus.

For polio, the immu­nity threshold is esti­mated at 80 per cent.

“Herd immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to it,” Tedros said.

“Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy for re­sponding to an out­break, let alone a pan­demic,” he insisted.

Covid-19 has killed well over one million people and infected more than 37.5 million since it first surfaced in China late last year.

Relying on naturally obtaining herd immu­nity in such a situation would be “scientifically and ethically problem­atic”, Tedros said.

“Allowing a danger­ous virus that we don’t fully understand to run free is simply unethical. It’s not an option.”

He pointed to the lack of information on the development of im­munity to Covid-19, in­cluding how strong the immune response is and how long antibod­ies remain in the body.

Tedros pointed to some cases where peo­ple are believed to have been infected with the virus a second time.

A study on Tuesday (13) showed Covid-19 patients may experi­ence more severe symp­toms the second time they are infected. Re­search published in The Lancet Infectious Dis­eases journal charts the first confirmed case of Covid-19 reinfection in the US – the country worst hit by the pan­demic – and indicates that exposure to the vi­rus may not guarantee future immunity.

Tedros also stressed the many long-term health problems of in­fection, which research­ers are only just begin­ning to understand.

And he pointed out that it has been estimat­ed that less than 10 per cent of the population in most countries are believed to have con­tracted the disease.

“The vast majority of people in most coun­tries remain susceptible to this virus,” he said.

“Letting the virus cir­culate unchecked there­fore means allowing unnecessary infections, suffering and death.”

Overall, it is estimat­ed that 0.6 per cent of people who contract Covid-19 die from the disease, Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s tech­nical lead on the virus, told Monday’s briefing.

“That may not sound like a lot,” she acknowl­edged, stressing though that it “is a lot higher than (for) influenza”.

She also pointed out that “the infection fatal­ity ratio increases dra­matically with age.”

While the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are clearly most likely to fall seriously ill from Cov­id-19, Tedros stressed that they were not the only ones at risk.

“People of all ages have died,” he said.

More For You

Chelsea Flower Show highlights Royal-inspired roses and eco-friendly innovation

King Charles III, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, walks through the RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden during a visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show at Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 20, 2025 in London, England.

Getty Images

Chelsea Flower Show highlights Royal-inspired roses and eco-friendly innovation

Rashmita Solanki

This particular year at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, there have been two members of the Royal Family who have had roses named after them.

‘The King’s Rose’, named after King Charles III, and ‘Catherine’s Rose’, named after Catherine, Princess of Wales. Both roses have been grown by two of the most well-known rose growers in the United Kingdom.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Going Dutch may be a solution to get the UK’s jobless into work’

The growing number of working-age adults not in jobs places a huge financial burden on Britain, according to recent reports

‘Going Dutch may be a solution to get the UK’s jobless into work’

Dr Nik Kotecha

ECONOMIC inactivity is a major obstacle to the UK’s productivity and competitiveness.

As a business owner and employer with over 30 years of experience, I have seen firsthand how this challenge has intensified as the economically inactive population approaches 10 million nationally - almost one million more than pre-pandemic.

Keep ReadingShow less
Understanding the Hindu Psyche: Averse to Confrontation?

Artistic depiction of Arjuna and Krishna with the chariot

Is Hindu psyche averse to confrontation?

Nitin Mehta

Over 5,000 years ago, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, two armies comprising tens of thousands of men were ready to begin a war. The Pandavs were led by Arjuna, a warrior whose archery skills were unbeatable. At the last minute, before the war was to commence, Arjuna put down his weapons and declared to Krishna his decision not to fight. He reasoned that the war would kill tens of thousands of people all for a kingdom. It took the whole of the Bhagavad Gita to convince Arjuna to fight.

Even after Krishna destroyed all his doubts, Arjuna asked to see Krishna in his form as a supreme God. In short, Arjuna wanted to avoid confrontation at any cost.

Keep ReadingShow less
How Indian news channels used fake stories and AI to grab attention

The mainstream print media in India, both in English and regional languages, has remained largely responsible and sober

How Indian news channels used fake stories and AI to grab attention

MISINFORMATION and disinformation are not new in the age of social media, but India’s mainstream news channels peddling them during a time of war was a new low.

Hours after India launched Operation Sindoor, most channels went into overdrive with ‘breaking news’ meant to shock, or worse, excite.

Keep ReadingShow less
war and peace

A vivid depiction of the Kurukshetra battlefield, where Arjuna and Krishna stand amidst the chaos, embodying the eternal conflict between duty and morality

Artvee

War and Peace are two sides of the same coin

Nitin Mehta

War and peace have exercised the minds of human beings for as far back as history goes. It is no wonder then that the Mahabharata war, which took place over 5,000 years ago, became a moment of intense discussion between Lord Krishna and Arjuna.

Hundreds of thousands of people on either side were ready to begin battle on the site of Kurukshetra. Seeing the armies and his near and dear combatants, Arjuna lost the will to fight. How could he fight his grandfather Bhisma and his guru Dronacharya? He asked Krishna what all the bloodshed would achieve.

Keep ReadingShow less