Covid-19 herd immunity will not happen in 2021, says WHOJanuary 12, 2021 - 12:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said Monday, January 11 that herd immunity to the coronavirus would not be achieved in 2021, despite the growing availability of vaccines, Deutsche Welle reports. Mitigating factors to herd immunity include limited access to vaccines in developing countries, skepticism about vaccination and the potential for virus mutations, according to health experts. A growing number of countries around the world — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Germany and other EU countries — are in the first stages of mass-vaccination campaigns. Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a population have immunity to an infection so that it prevents the disease from spreading. In the United States, which currently has the world's highest daily case numbers, officials said Monday that over 25.4 million vaccine doses have so far been distributed, with nearly 9 million doses having been administered. In Germany, more than 600,000 people have so far been vaccinated against Covid-19, according the Robert Koch Institute for public health. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |