Metro West Times

97.9 percent of Middlesex County COVID-19 patients have survived as of Dec. 21, according to the COVID-19 Data Repository by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The CSSE confirmed there were 190,649 COVID-19 cases in Middlesex County by Dec. 21.

There were 4,068 fatalities, equalling 2.1 percent of Middlesex County's COVID-19 patients.

More than 50 percent of US citizens are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, nearing the target for "herd immunity." Herd immunity happens when enough of the population has become immune to the virus from previous infection that it effectively protects those who are not immune.

"The number of people who are immune to the coronavirus is increasing every day," professors David Dowdy and Gypsyamber D'Souza said in an interview.