The chief scientist at the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 50 percent to 60% of the population will have to be resistant to the coronavirus for there to be some protective"herd immunity" effect.

Herd immunity is normally achieved through vaccination and occurs when most of a population is immune to a disease, obstructing its continued spread.

Throughout a social media event on Friday, Dr Soumya Swaminathan said that studies done from several countries hit hard by COVID-19 reveal that about 5% to 10 percent of people now have antibodies, although in certain countries, it has been as large as 20 percent.

She states:"As there are waves of this disease going through countries, individuals will develop antibodies and those folks will be immune for sometime so they may also act as barriers and brakes to the spread"

Other experts have estimated that as much as 70 percent to 80% of the population need to possess antibodies before there's a herd immunity effect.

In the pandemic's earlier phases, countries including Britain suggested accomplishing herd immunity as an outbreak response plan. But Swaminathan pointed out that achieving this effect with a vaccine is a lot safer than allowing the virus tear through the population.

She states that to achieve herd immunity through natural infection, you have to have several waves and you will see the morbidity and mortality that we see now.