Barclays Bank experts revealed the date when herd immunity in the European Union will develop. According to their estimations, the population will get herd immunity by autumn amid an improvement in the supply of vaccines.
"The European Union can reach the 70-per cent level of immunization by the end of September, Barclays Bank predicts,” RBC informs.
It is noted that the volume of vaccines supplies in the EU should rise sharply in the second quarter of this year (about 360 mln doses compared to 98 mln in the first quarter). The bank noted that solving the problem of achieving the 70-per cent share of citizens fully protected from the virus by the end of September is quite realistic.
Now the share of those who received the first dose of vaccine in the EU is 10%, by the end of the first quarter of 2021, the EU will receive 59 mln doses of Pfizer vaccine, followed by 30 mln doses of AstraZeneca. Pfizer will supply another 200 mln doses to the EU in the second quarter.
The report notes that the pace of vaccination in the EU will grow due to the acceleration of the EU-derived vaccine's sales and approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the European regulator. According to the report, this vaccine does not need any special conditions during transportation, and only one jab is required.
In total, the European regulator registered four vaccines for use in the EU - AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition, in early March, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) began an examination of the registration dossier of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. That became the first step in a process that could lead to its approval throughout the European Union.
