Herd Immunity
If enough people in a given population are immune to the virus, it won’t be able to spread to those who are still vulnerable - Jaquelin Dudley
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The herd to the rescue: How an invisible shield can keep us healthy
If you work in an office, it might be hard to hear yourself think these days, what with the chorus of coughs chiming from every direction. It’s a time of year when simply staying healthy seems like a herculean task.
Most of us focus on trying to get enough exercise and sleep, by getting a flu shot, and by fastidiously washing our hands. When it comes to common colds, there’s only so much one can do. But with other communicable diseases, we often have an invisible protective shield.
We’re part of the herd.
We — and this is most especially true for the immunologically vulnerable among us — benefit from the effect of herd immunity. The concept, also explained by STAT’s…
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Herd immunity: why the figure is always a bit vague
Once the population reaches herd immunity, either through vaccination or naturally by recovering from the disease, any new infection chain will quickly die out. In this way, the population is protected from future outbreaks, but only as long as the immunity levels are maintained.
What is herd immunity and how many people need to be vaccinated to protect a community?
Herd immunity, or community immunity, as it’s sometimes called, is a powerful public health tool. By ensuring those who can be vaccinated do get vaccinated we can achieve herd immunity and prevent the illness and suffering that comes from the spread of infectious diseases.
The Myth about Herd Immunity
A good place to start is by dispelling the myths about herd immunity—explaining to parents how herd immunity works, and when it doesn’t, and ensuring they understand the consequences to the larger community of the supposedly “individual” choice to forgo or delay immunizations.
Vaccine herd effect
In summary, we have shown that the benefits of many current vaccines extend beyond the direct benefits to indirect benefits, i.e. through the herd effect extending beyond targeted groups to other populations at high risk for complications. Nevertheless, gaps in our knowledge exist about how best to achieve herd immunity.
What is Herd Immunity?
While disease is a complicated and nuanced issue, there is a common goal in the disintegration of all of these diseases – Herd Immunity. The question is, how do we get there?
The herd to the rescue: How an invisible shield can keep us healthy
We — and this is most especially true for the immunologically vulnerable among us — benefit from the effect of herd immunity.
Vaccine Knowledge Project
When a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, it is difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not many people who can be infected. For example, if someone with measles is surrounded by people who are vaccinated against measles, the disease cannot easily be passed on to anyone, and it will quickly disappear again. This is called ‘herd immunity’, 'community immunity' or 'herd protection', and it gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies, elderly people and those who are too sick to be vaccinated.
GAVI
Herd immunity is the indirect protection from a contagious infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.
The History of Vaccines
See how high vaccination rates protect...
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