Spanish Covid-19 antibodies study adds evidence against herd immunity

A Spanish large-scale study on the coronavirus indicates just 5% of the country's population has developed antibodies and cast doubt on the feasibility of herd immunity as a strategy to tackle Covid-19. The study was published Monday on the medical journal The Lancet.

Herd immunity is achieved when 70% to 90% of a population was either infected with a virus or bacteria or vaccinated, to stop its circulation.

In the report, the authors say: "Despite the high impact of COVID-19 in Spain, prevalence estimates remain low and are clearly insufficient to provide herd immunity. This cannot be achieved without accepting the collateral damage of many deaths in the susceptible population and overburdening of health systems. In this situation, social distance measures and efforts to identify and isolate new cases and their contacts are imperative for future epidemic control."