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Herd Immunity

Herd Immunity: What is it and will it Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

      Many countries are enforcing strict social distancing and shelter-in-place regulations to slow the spread of COVID-19. However, other countries such as Sweden and briefly Britain are taking a completely different approach. Sweden has been resisting shelter-in-place orders in hope of achieving herd immunity before a vaccine is developed. This approach of course, comes with consequences. Sweden has one of the highest mortality rates in the world and their approach to herd immunity is going very slowly. So, what is herd immunity and is it achievable?

What is Herd Immunity

    Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a disease that it won't spread very far to those who aren't immune. This immunity can be developed if the person has already been exposed to the disease or has been vaccinated. For example, if 70% of a population is immune to a virus, 7 out of 10 people who encounter someone with the disease won't become infected and won't spread the disease any further. 

What is Needed to Achieve Herd Immunity

    For a virus like COVID-19, experts predict that about 60-70% of the population needs to be immune in order for herd immunity to occur. According to a Swedish Study, only 7% of the population in Stockholm has developed an immunity to the disease from March to the end of April. Other cities don't seem to be doing much better either. New York City has the highest amount of antibodies developed at 19.9% (See figure below). This number is still far from the required 60% minimum. 

Popovich, Nadja, and Margot Sanger-katz. “The World Is Still Far From Herd Immunity for Coronavirus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/28/upshot/coronavirus-herd-immunity.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200529&instance_id=18910&nl=the-morning®i_id=104079047&segment_id=29522&te=1&user_id=a1ffb30ce1c80314068039118d254073.

Is Herd Immunity Achievable 

    According to results from multiple studies, it can be concluded that herd immunity is not the best approach to slowing the spread of the coronavirus and is unlikely to be achieved any time soon. Herd immunity has been developed for other infections such as measles and chicken pox with the help of vaccines. However, with COVID-19 being a much more severe disease and without a vaccine,  the risk of death that comes with attaining herd immunity is just too high. According to Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard, "We don't have a good way to safely build it up, to be honest, not in the short term". 

Sources

  1. Lindsay Smith Rogers, and JH Bloomberg School of Public Health. “What Is Herd Immunity and How Can We Achieve It With COVID-19?” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 22 Apr. 2020, www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/achieving-herd-immunity-with-covid19.html.

  2. TodayShow. “What Is Herd Immunity and When Will We Get There for Coronavirus?” TODAY.com, 2 June 2020, www.today.com/health/what-herd-immunity-when-will-it-be-achieved-coronavirus-covid-t183014.

  3. Popovich, Nadja, and Margot Sanger-katz. “The World Is Still Far From Herd Immunity for Coronavirus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/28/upshot/coronavirus-herd-immunity.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200529&instance_id=18910&nl=the-morning®i_id=104079047&segment_id=29522&te=1&user_id=a1ffb30ce1c80314068039118d254073.

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