The mythic idea of "herd immunity" from COVID-19 in the long journey back to normal may be out of reach for Texas any time soon, state health officials and medical experts say. But while it remains the ultimate goal, they say it isn’t necessary to begin stemming some of the pandemic’s devastating effects in the state.
The state's high percentage of residents under 18, most of whom aren't approved for the vaccine, combined with those who can't or won’t take it for other reasons, means that the state will struggle to immunize enough Texans to halt the chain of transmission and indirectly protect people who are not immune, experts said.
In Texas, hitting the 70% to 80% level that experts estimate is needed would mean vaccinating some 22 million people, or nearly 100% of adults in the state, according to census numbers.
