Gov't official says COVID-19 herd immunity not option in country like India

Federal health ministry Thursday said India cannot count on herd immunity to stop the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic given its demography and scale, instead, it will have to rely on a vaccine.

"In a country with the size of the population like India, herd immunity cannot be a strategic choice or option. It can only be an outcome, and that too at a very high cost as it means millions of people would have to be infected, get hospitalised and many would die in the process," said Rajesh Bhushan, secretary in the ministry of health at a press briefing.

Herd immunity refers to the situation when the spread of disease is stopped naturally when enough of the population becomes resistant to the virus and not enough people are able to transmit it.

Bhushan urged people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour until a vaccine is developed.