KRG Health Minister: COVID-19 herd immunity requires 80 percent of public to be vaccinated

On Sunday, a new shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Iraq.

Mustafa Shilani 2021/06/13 23:11

COVID-19 vaccination center in Kurdistan Region’s Erbil city. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq COVID-19 Vaccines Pfizer

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region’s Health Minister said on Sunday that achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 requires 80 percent of the population to be vaccinated.

Minister Saman Barzinji added that the number of immunization centers in the region will increase as more vaccine doses arrive, and called on the public to get the jab once available in their areas.

For life to return to normal, the official affirmed, it is essential to achieve herd immunity, which "requires vaccinating 80 percent of the population." Barzinji also stressed that as the immunization campaign continues, the public must adhere to health measures to help reduce the spread of the highly contagious disease.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment announced Sunday evening the arrival of a new shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Batches of the vaccine will arrive in the Kurdistan Region, according to the ministry.

The first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine entered Iraq on April 11, 2021.

Earlier on Sunday, the Kurdistan Region Health Ministry announced 497 new coronavirus infections and two deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 176,659, including 4,362 deaths.

Nationally, the Iraqi government reported 3,952 cases of the virus and 15 deaths in the previous 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 1,254,643 and fatalities to 17,705.

Editing by Khrush Najari