ANKARA – Global herd immunity against Covid-19 will take two to three years, said China’s top respiratory disease expert, according to the Anadolu news agency.
“With the development and marketing of vaccines, it will take at least two to three years to achieve herd immunity worldwide,” Zhong Nanshan was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua agency at an online dialogue hosted by University of Edinburgh last night.
“Last year, two months after the epidemic was basically under control, we reopened our economy and resumed classes,” said Zhong, who exchanged views with top United States infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci at the event.
The duo urged for global solidarity and cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus.
Since December 2019, when the first infections were detected in Wuhan, China, the disease has claimed more than 2.5 million lives in 192 countries and regions.
“If we want to end this epidemic, we need appropriate science-based, evidence-based decisions by decision-makers in each country. Everyone should do their best. So, we need global solidarity,” said Zhong.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiaoming, chief executive of vaccine producer Sinopharm, said the company has completed Covid-19 clinical trials for groups aged 3 to 17, and will submit data for authorities’ approval, reported Chinese daily Global Times.
Sinovac CEO Yin Weidong said the firm’s production capacity will be expanded to two billion doses annually by June.
Both vaccines have been rolled out, and China has supplied them to nearly 30 countries. – Bernama, March 3, 2021
