The 'moving target' of reaching COVID herd immunity

Understand SC

Reaching herd immunity — the point at which enough of the population is immune to COVID-19 that new outbreaks can't occur — is still far away in South Carolina.

Based on a Post and Courier analysis and insight from experts, just about 4.6 percent of the state's population is immune or partially immune to the coronavirus.

The goal is for about 70 to 85 percent of the state to be immune.

So, how did we get there?

This week on the show, Post and Courier Greenville reporter Anna Mitchell shared what she learned during her deep dive into that question of what it will take to reach herd immunity in South Carolina.

News developer Bryan Brussee explained how they used data to determine an approximate percentage of the state's population that has immunity at this point in time. He also broke down how daily COVID-19 data is recorded on The Post and Courier's coronavirus dashboard and what recent numbers tell us about the state of the pandemic in South Carolina.

Listen now for more.

View data on the spread of COVID-19 in South Carolina on our dashboard here. Graphics illustrating the state's progress toward herd immunity can be found here.

Understand SC is a weekly podcast from The Post and Courier that draws from the reporting resources and knowledge of our newsroom to help you better understand South Carolina. This episode was hosted and edited by Emily Williams and Matt Rasnic.