The president said that with those additional doses, there will be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of summer. This week, the president also said that by summer, the United States should be “well on our way to heading toward herd immunity.”News4Jax put those claims to the Trust Index. The question is not only will there be enough shots available and vaccine sites up and running by spring, but will there be enough people willing to get the vaccine for herd immunity? The number of people who need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity differs for each virus. Biden’s statement is true that if everything goes according to his plan, the country can be well on the way to herd immunity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said it could be several months until herd immunity is achieved. To reach herd immunity, Dr. Chirag Patel, with UF Health Jacksonville, estimates at least 70% of the population needs to be immune to the coronavirus. “What we are seeing here and there are different estimates, on the conservative side we think about 70% of the population needs to have immunity to achieve herd immunity. On its website, the CDC reports health experts are working to learn more about herd immunity and COVID-19. The agency said the percentage of people who need to be protected to achieve it varies by disease.