Kuwait expects community immunity by Sept-end

Kuwait is likely to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 by next September when the total number of those receiving the jabs will hit 3 million people, according to well-informed sources.

“Reaching this rate will put the country at the threshold of obtaining community immunity, thus paving the way for return to normal life with 65 to 70 per cent vaccinated before the new school year starts in September,” a source said, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.

HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said that the government expects to achieve what is called “herd immunity” against the coronavirus pandemic by the end of September, when 70 percent of the population will be vaccinated. Speaking to university graduates at Sabah Al-Salem University City, the prime minister said so far some 2.6 million people have been vaccinated, which represents around 66 percent of the country’s population.

By the end of next month, the vaccination rate is expected to hit 70 percent, “which is sufficient to achieve community immunity” against the pandemic.

Over the past few weeks, Kuwait has seen a sharp decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, the number of patients and those in intensive care units.