What is herd immunity?

HERD immunity seems to be a hot topic in academia and science as the world wants to end the coronavirus pandemic.

Although the term is widely used, it can have many meanings. The latest after the World Health Organization warned the world Nothing is close to the amount of coronavirus immunity Necessary for herd protection.

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What is herd immunity?

Herd immunity is where a sufficient number of people in a population are immune to the infection and can effectively stop the spread of the disease.

Herd immunity is usually vaccination..

The term flock immunity is widely used, but it has many implications.

The NHS outlines “vaccination” when enough people in the community are vaccinated against the disease. And it makes it more difficult to spread it to susceptible individuals who have not yet been vaccinated or are not vaccinated.

Scholars at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine use the term to describe the proportion of individuals in the community who are immune to the condition, while others have a reduced incidence of infection. To. “

In addition, “the general meaning of this term is that the risk of transmission between susceptible individuals within a population is reduced by the presence and proximity of immune individuals.”

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How does it work?

The Oxford University Vaccine Knowledge Project uses an analogy of people infected with measles.

The organization states: “If a person with measles is surrounded by people who have been vaccinated against measles, the disease is not easily transmitted to anyone and will soon disappear again.

“This is called” herd immunity, “” herd immunity, “or” herd immunity, “and protects vulnerable people, such as newborns, the elderly, and those who are too ill to be vaccinated. “

However, the organization emphasized that herd immunity is “ineffective”, adding that “it does not protect against all vaccine-preventable diseases” only if the majority of the population is vaccinated against the condition. It was.

“Unlike vaccination, herd immunity does not provide a high degree of personal protection and is not a good alternative to vaccination,” said the Vaccine Knowledge Project.

Professor Mark Woolhaus, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, Independent The concept of herd immunity is “the basis of all vaccination programs”.

He explained: “If you are exposed to any infection, if enough people are already exposed to it and are developing antibodies and are immune, then you have a natural herd of immunity. That particular virus can cause an epidemic in the population.

“It doesn’t mean it can’t spread because there are still people who are susceptible to infection, but it doesn’t take off and cause an infectious disease.”

The proportion of people who need immunity to the disease to prevent an infectious disease varies and depends on the infectivity of the disease.

Using the measles analogy, Professor Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, explains: At a much shorter distance. “

However, Vaccine Knowledge Project Manager Tonia Thomas warns that the prospect of developing immunity to the condition by infection rather than vaccination may be detrimental because people are “at risk of developing complications from the disease.” Did.

“Vaccines are a safer way to develop immunity without the risks associated with the disease itself,” she said.

WHO has also developed immunity to seasonal influenza strains in many people around the world, but the same is true. Corona virus..

WHO states: “Covid-19 is a new virus that no one has immunity to.”

Antibodies may be detected among people who were previously tested positive for the virus, but “evidence that people who are now recovering from Covid-19 and who have the antibodies are protected from secondary infections. There is no such thing, “the organization emphasized.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said on August 28 that at least 60-70% of the population is believed to need to lose immunity “to break the chain of infection.”

Most scientists have at least 70% of the population antibody To prevent it from occurring.

The US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that the immune response of Covid-19 is “not yet understood,” and it is unclear if patients may be infected again.

In a study conducted by researchers at King’s College London in July, coronavirus patients You can lose your immunity to the disease within a few months.

Researchers found that 60% of patients had “strong” levels of antibody in the first two weeks of symptoms, but after three months, antibody levels dropped to less than 17%.

“One of the things we know about these coronaviruses is that people can re-infect quite often,” said study co-author Professor Stuartneil.

“What that must mean is that the protective immunity that people produce is not very long-lasting. It seems that the virus that causes Covid-19, Sars-Cov-2, may also fall into that pattern.”

And in August, scientists at the University of Hong Kong First human reinfected with Covid-19 The man said he had been infected twice with different versions of the coronavirus months apart.

Is it used for the British coronavirus?

Statement released by the Secretary of Health on March 15 Matt Hancock Achieving herd immunity was denied on the government website.

“We have plans based on the expertise of the world’s leading scientists. Herd immunity is not part of it,” the statement read.

“It’s a scientific concept, not a goal or strategy. Our goal is to protect life from this virus, and our strategy is to protect, contain, delay and investigate the most vulnerable people. Is to protect the NHS through mitigation. “

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Which countries are using herd immunity?

Swedish government I chose to use herd immunity as a strategy to defeat the coronavirus.

Rather than implementing a strict blockade, we have published a number of guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, such as staying home in case of illness, washing hands, and keeping a social distance.

No company was forced to shut down. Sweden I wanted to limit its impact on the economy.

Sweden’s director of public health, Johan Karlsson, who was the leader in herd immunity policy, said it seemed to be working now.

Swedish health professionals They claimed to be breaking the coronavirus For immunity after refusing to enter the lockdown.

Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s head of emergency, seemed to shatter the theory at a press conference in August.

He shouldn’t live with reporters hoping we’ll achieve nature Herd immunity..

Dr. Ryan said: “As a world population, we are not close to the level of immunity needed to stop the transmission of this disease.

“This is not the solution, nor is it the solution we should expect.”

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