Social

Home page

Social

Less than 10% of world’s population have coronavirus antibodies, WHO Chief scientist says

01 March 2021 09:48 (UTC +04:00)

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that less than 10 percent of the global population have antibodies to the coronavirus, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said, APA reports citing Sputnik.

"Less than 10% of the world’s population actually has antibodies to this virus. Of course in some settings, like particularly in the very high density urban settlements, there are pockets where 50, 60 percent of the population has been exposed to the virus and has antibodies," Swaminathan said in a Sunday interview, released on the official WHO twitter page.

The only way to achieve mass herd immunity is through vaccination, the WHO chief scientist stressed.

According to Swaminathan, the currently approved vaccines offer good protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The vaccines’ effectiveness with regard to mild disease and asymptomatic coronavirus infection is still being studied.