Herd Immunity

Herd Immunity

Herd immunity occurs when a large group of people in the community become immune to a disease. Since the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, there have been many questions on how the epidemic can be curbed and all. Developing herd immunity for the coronavirus is possible, but it has not been expected yet. With the measures we are taking as a society to avoid the contagious disease from spreading like social distancing, personal quarantine, sanitizing, and regularly washing our hands, it is possible some people can become immune to the disease. (Kwok et al., 2020)

The only way we will achieve herd immunity for COVID-19 is through vaccines and infection (Kwok et al., 2020). The World Health Organization has hinted at testing the coronavirus vaccine. However, it takes long enough for a vaccine to be approved by the organization. Vaccines create herd immunity without affecting people in any way. This is achieved by ensuring the vaccine administered to people does not cause any complications. It is through the use of vaccines that diseases such as polio, smallpox, and rubella have been controlled, and it is possible we can achieve heed immunity for VOCID 19 using the same means. Herd immunity can also be achieved by natural infection whereby once many people have recovered from the disease, and they will develop antibodies against it. These two ways will help us achieve herd immunity, and yes, it is possible we can do it.

Social isolation has affected our immunity in different ways. The influenza virus, which causes flu, usually strikes in the cold season. While our regular immune system may have been weak due to social isolation, avoiding people has helped most people get even better immunity. Staying at home exposes us to fewer risks of picking viruses from crowded places. The cases of cold and flu this coming winter may be lower than before.

In case the COVID 19 vaccine gets released soon, I will not get vaccinated until it has been around for a while. To avoid possible complications that might be caused by the vaccine, I prefer taking other measures to avoid the disease rather than getting vaccinated.

References

Kwok, K. O., Lai, F., Wei, W. I., Wong, S. Y. S., & Tang, J. W. (2020). Herd immunity–estimating the level required to halt the COVID-19 epidemics in affected countries. Journal of Infection, 80(6), e32-e33.