Originally Posted by
missingblade
Jriv - the irony is that due to the USA's utterly inept management of the virus they will very likely reach a significant level of herd immunity very soon and just like in large parts of Europe the death rates will most likely reduce to almost nothing. Let's hope this is true - and a lot of data now point that way.
If this turns out to be the case - and we will know within the next month or two - then the worst is over and in the EU and the USA life will quickly get back to normal with or without a vaccine.
However HKG, Aus and NZ have painted themselves into a corner with their zero infection policy. And we will be stuck waiting for a vaccine for another year while the western world gets on with life. And their airlines will be flying while cx and quantas slowly go bankrupt.
What's the evidence for herd immunity? Medical experts I've heard talking about it seem to think post-infection antibodies have a half-life of around six weeks. So any post-infection immunity would be short-lived, assuming it even works for any mutated virus encountered a second time around.