The coronavirus pandemic has infected over 22 million people worldwide. Due to the virus's pervasive spread, many have theorized that country populations will be able to reach herd immunity, which could effectively end the threat of infection for most of a nation's population.
Herd immunity is when a virus can no longer spread freely because enough of the population is immune to it. Scientific consensus estimates that at least 70% of a population would have to become immune to achieve herd immunity. At that level, the chances of the virus passing from person to person dramatically falls, making it difficult to infect.
The World Health Organization's Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the agency's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, stated on Tuesday that most of the world's population is still at risk of infection. Kerkhove said that based on over 100 seroprevalence studies, or research aimed to determine how much of a given community has been infected by the coronavirus, from around the world indicate that only about 10% of the population has COVID-19 antibodies.
"That means that a large proportion of the population remains susceptible," Kerkhove said during a press conference, quoted by CNBC. "What we are looking at right now are the sero-epidemiology studies being conducted and these tell us consistently, access all regions, that a large proportion of the populations remains susceptible to infection. That means the virus has an opportunity to spread."
Kerkhove noted that global scientists are still researching the role COVID-19 antibodies play, as well as whether or not they keep an individual immune to another infection, and, if so, for how long. The global health agency concluded, however, that herd immunity would longer to reach than many would anticipate, concluding that it will only be reached once there is a safe and effective vaccine.
Testing Dilemma
One ongoing issue in the United States' fight against its nationwide coronavirus outbreak is long testing turnaround times, or the amount of time it takes for a test to produce results. In some parts of the country, testing turnaround times could range from 2-10 days, making it difficult for contact tracing and isolation of infected individuals to take place.
In its ongoing effort to remedy this issue, Quest Diagnostics
"We have completed testing and reporting results of outstanding test specimens associated with the prior, recent surge," the company said in a statement, quoted by CNBC. "We now have ample capacity to accommodate incoming orders."
Quest stated that it's laboratories can run 150,000 diagnostic tests per day, and expects to be able to expand that capacity to 185,000 daily tests by early September. However, the company noted that turnaround time can still vary by demand and region.
"COVID-19 is unpredictable, and changing dynamics affecting demand, supplies, and other factors could cause turnaround times to slip," Quest added.
