- By John Deloria
- (General Dispatch) – The Berlin AP news outlet reported that director Uğur Şahin of the German pharmaceutical company BionTech said that Europe could achieve herd immunity by August this year.
- Although the European bloc has had major complications with immunization campaigns, experts have reported that if European countries manage to vaccinate around 70% it could decrease coronavirus cases.
- The vaccine, provided by Sahin’s pharmaceutical company, has been one of the most widely supplied vaccines in both Europe and North America, and the director expects the first herd immunity to begin in July.
- Studies have affirmed that the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine requires that it be given at least two more injections from the first dose, as over the months the efficacy rate decreases.
- “Consequently, we need a third injection to bring the vaccine protection back to near 100%,” Sahin said.
- The director said the third injection can be given 12 months after the second dose, however he raised concerns about how effective the other vaccines may be in other countries because of new variants of the virus.
- The pharmaceutical company has managed to carry out different experiments with more than 30 variants of the virus, which makes it one of the candidates to be at the forefront.
- On the other hand, it has been discussed whether the vaccine achieves immunization with the new outbreak that the country of India is witnessing, the director said that the research to determine the efficacy is still ongoing, but he assured that the structure of the new mutation is similar to previous studies that had been carried out with the other variants.
Adittional Information:
Breitbart: Europe Could Reach ‘Herd Immunity’ by August, Says BioNTech Boss
ABC News: BioNTech boss strikes upbeat note on Europe’s vaccine drive
