How close is the country to achieving 'herd immunity'?

To reach Herd Immunity, 70% of people need to be vaccinated.

Right now, the country is around 10%/

Sun is out!

Friday will be new on daybreak.

While almost 40 million americans have been fully vaccinated... we still have a lot more to go until we reach herd immunity.

Kimt news 3's madelyne watkins joins us live to break down exactly what herd immunity is and the likelihood of reaching it soon.

Good morning, madelyne./// brooke and tyler.

Doctors here at mayo clinic and olmsted medical center and lots of other places in the med city are vaccinating thousands of people every single day.

But is that enough to be able to protect the unvaccinated people?

Herd immunity is when enough people are either vaccinated or immune to covid?

"*19 because they've already been infected ?

"*?

"* people who can still get the virus are essentially protected.

To reach herd immunity... we need at least 70% of the population vaccinated.

Right now... the u?

"*s is only at about 10%.

Sue yost with the freeborn county public health department tells me not enough vaccines and people not masking up are what's standing in the way of us reaching herd immunity.

While she believes we will one day get there... she's not sure the future "i'm not sure that we'll ever totally go back to normal.

We saw this year with very low cases of flu, so we know that masking does help.

So it may be that we're strongly encouraged to during flu seasons continue to do masking and stuff.

I don't know that we'll ever go back to normal again."

Yost tells me the next steps are learning how long people are immune for after they've received the vaccine.

Getting an annual shot might be an option because of the new variants that keep coming out.

Live in rochester.

Madelyne watkins kimt news 3.

Thank you madelyne.

While vaccines are rolling out every day... getting tested for covid?

"*19 remains the number one tool at slowing the spread