Protect the Community: Learn About Herd Immunity
By: Aarti Contractor
When a certain number of people in a population are immune to a disease, it allows others who are not immune to also stay protected. This phenomenon is called herd immunity. If some percent of the population is getting vaccinated and staying up to date with their checkups, then everyone can be protected!
A vaccination is a method of protection in which the receiver of the vaccination is injected with a sample of the virus that they inject into the receiver to be able to allow the receiver’s immune system to build immunity against the disease they are injected with.
A small amount is injected so that the receiver’s body is able to fight off the disease and build resistance rather than for the body to become infected.
Some people may choose to not get vaccinated against certain diseases or to just not get vaccinated in general. One reason may be that the person is immunocompromised. This condition can occur for a plethora of reasons, and it means that a person’s immune system is weakened by either a disease, or a medication. Those that are immunocompromised cannot get vaccinated because their body is not strong enough to fight off the vaccine and germs that come with the vaccine. Babies, pregnant women, and patients undergoing organ transplants, or chemotherapy are just a few people that a vaccination would do more harm than good to.
Another reason some people do not get vaccines is because they are anti-vaccination. This can be because of religion, beliefs, or personal opinions. In order for those who are not vaccinated to still stay safe, most of the population has to be strong enough to fight off the infection. This percentage varies with different diseases and the ways they spread, but usually 70%-90% of a population needs to be immune to the disease. If 80% of the population is immune, then every four out of five people would be immune. This means that even if the other one person was infected, there would be no way for the disease to spread to those other 4 people. In order words, this phenomenon proves that a disease can be contained and controlled so it does not turn into an epidemic or pandemic later on. An epidemic is a disease that is affecting a very large amount of people in a community or area. A pandemic is like an epidemic but on a much larger scale. A pandemic is a disease that is affecting a large number of people in multiple countries and around the world.
Covid-19 is an example of a pandemic because it is a disease that is panning the world. Epidemics are usually caused because a certain area has not reached herd immunity, and thus, the disease could not be contained. However, there are also certain diseases that vaccines cannot protect against, or a vaccine has not been developed in time before the outbreaks. This epidemic can quickly turn into a pandemic because of travel and trade.
References:
Early Herd Immunity against COVID-19: A Dangerous Misconception. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/from-our-experts/early-herd-immunity-against-covid-19-a-dangerous-misconception.
Gulshan, B. (2020, March 30). Herd immunity. Retrieved from https://apic.org/monthly_alerts/herd-immunity/.
Person, Healthcare, I., 500, & ImageObject. (2020, April 2). What’s the difference between a pandemic, an epidemic, endemic, and an outbreak? Retrieved from https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2020/04/whats-the-difference-between-a-pandemic-an-epidemic-endemic-and-an-outbreak/report, H. staff. (2020, April 30). COVID-19 and the long road to herd immunity. Retrieved from https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/04/30/herd-immunity-covid-19-coronavirus/.
Rogers, L. S., & JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2020, April 22). What is Herd Immunity and How Can We Achieve It With COVID-19? Retrieved from https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/achieving-herd-immunity-with-covid19.html.
