Belgium’s hoped-for herd immunity against Covid ‘not possible,’ says expert

The hoped-for herd immunity against Covid-19, in which most of the population in Belgium will be immune to the coronavirus, is “impossible,” says microbiologist Emmanuel André (KU Leuven).

While the only scenario at the start of the pandemic was avoiding infection and getting vaccinated, the situation has become a lot more complex now, André said in an interview with De Morgen on Monday.

“We can no longer lump everyone together in terms of vulnerability and protection, even as most figures are rising again,” he said, adding that one-third of the population has been infected, and way more have been vaccinated.

While the most fragile people (those with a weakened immune system) could receive an extra booster after the summer, “the risk at the individual level is now even more different for other target groups than before.”

André stressed that even though the Belgian population has already built up considerable immunity, “the herd immunity we once hoped for is not possible, but we can prevent serious illness in the vast majority of people.”

Still, people have not been vaccinated and have not (yet) been infected, the risk of severe infection remains. “Omicron, and perhaps the following variants too, are not as mild as we would have liked. For those who are completely unprotected, the rule is still: avoid infection and get vaccinated.”