We are on the path from achieving herd immunity to becoming COVID-19

IIn the last few weeks, people around the world have begun to suggest that intentional exposure to COVID-19 may actually benefit society as a whole. Discussion Social media Voices about the herd’s immunity grew louder, and the Swedish government A few weeks later From achieving it Stockholm. As part of a controversial approach to speeding vaccine development, hundreds of people Human challenge trial.

America has successfully achieved herd immunity from diseases such as: chicken pox, Mumps, Polio I have measles, COVID-19, Experts tell the time. In fact, trying to build immunity to coronavirus by exposure, rather than waiting for the vaccine to develop, can have fatal consequences.

Scientists are still uncertain whether the human body develops immunity after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Also, if the body becomes immune, there is no evidence of how long the immune system remains immune to the virus after recovery. Experts believe that, based on previous research on other coronaviruses (such as those that cause MERS and SARS), it is likely that someone infected with COVID-19 will have some immunity after recovering from the disease. However, I do not know the details are too many. That’s why they say it’s a terrible idea to deliberately expose themselves to infection.

As part of the new TIME 100 Talks: Finding Hope Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the series, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is able to (especially) achieve herd immunity at Alice Park, a senior correspondent at TIME. I talked about whether or not COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when first appearing.

“We can’t really depend on the herd’s immunity until enough people are infected or are vaccinated enough,” he said in a Thursday interview. That is, the vaccine is being developed to immunize the majority of people with the virus, or 70-80% of people are infected with the virus through community expansion and develop antibody protection to help the rest of the population who are not yet immune. Protects indirectly. Virus.

Experts say that both of these pathways to herd immunity can theoretically occur in the long-term future, but one is more deadly than the other.

“Eventually, [will] We achieve herd immunity, but we don’t want it to happen quickly. ” Gypsum Bar Douza, Professor of Epidemiology at Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. “There will be so many dead.”

What is flock immunity?

Exposure to disease-causing organisms triggers the body’s production antibody, Disease-specific proteins that fight off infection. On the first exposure, it takes some time to develop the correct antibody. However, in many cases, the human immune system retains knowledge of its infectious agent, and when it encounters it again, it can rapidly deploy these antibodies and fight them.

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D’Souza says that if a person develops this type of antibody-based immunity to a particular infectious agent, the chances of transmitting it are greatly reduced. When 70-80% of a given population develops this antibody defense, the herd’s immunity is achieved, indirectly providing protection to those who are not yet immune.

“People are immune enough to reduce the number of infections over time rather than increase,” he says. David Daudi, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. “There are actually only two ways to achieve this level of resistance. One is through the development and mass distribution of the vaccine, and the other is due to the significant increase in the number of people who get sick. . “

In the case of COVID-19, the vaccine is at least months away, perhaps more than a year away, according to experts at the White House Coronavirus Task Force, including Fauci. Option 2 may seem like a viable option to some, but both D’Souza and Dowdy warn.

On April 5, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang said Tweet “My military veterinary friends have proposed that soldiers and veterinarians are allowed to spontaneously acquire the virus in order to maintain readiness, provide an immune workforce, and study antibodies. Guys and gals are hardcore. “April 16th, Cincinnati Questioner Published Opinion piece The University of Cincinnati headlined “ I want to infect my children with coronaviruses-and you should ”, saying that Ohio should lead efforts to expose children to the waves. Insisted. (Doctor did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment).

However, both D’Souza and Dowdy say that intentional exposure to the virus can increase mortality.

According to Daudy, researchers now believe that only about 1-2% of the United States population is immune to the virus. “It might be expensive in places like New York City, but to reach 1-2% [immunity]”We’ve already killed over 40,000 people,” he says. “It’s not a good idea, because we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of deaths to make 70% of the population immune by nature conservation.”

Should people intentionally expose themselves to COVID-19?

Before the vaccine for chickenpox, parents held a “varicella party” and deliberately exposed children to chickenpox to boost their immunity to the disease. That worked-The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Strongly discouraged Given the risk, we host such a party. And chickenpox is far less deadly than COVID-19 seems to be.

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“I have this impression that many people had [COVID-19] D. Souza says: It’s okay. Some people have the feeling that we are close to herd immunity because we have not tested. “

“We’re talking here about diseases that are at least 100 times more deadly than chickenpox, and people also confuse the idea of ​​individual immunity with herd immunity,” Daudi says. I will add it. “ If people are deliberately exposing themselves, they shouldn’t think about the immunity of the herd, but in terms of the risk-benefit to themselves … it’s a tremendous risk to take. , A wise choice that I don’t think of. “

There are other risk factors to consider in COVID-19. Infectious disease specialists do not yet know how long people can be protected by antibodies after recovering from the disease. It can also spread the virus to people who may not be able to recover it.

“The people you are trying to get will be your friends and family,” Daudi says. “You not only roll the dice in your health and life, but you do the same as the person closest to you.”

When can I get the herd’s immunity?

“In the near future, we won’t be able to swarm our immunity a year or two later, but the precautions we’re taking now, such as maintaining social distances, are to help us develop the vaccine we can count on. Spends time, says D’Souza.

And, although time consuming, there is much hope for a vaccine to be developed, she adds. “It’s not necessarily the situation that” after all, you have to get infected “. There are many reasons to think that a vaccine has a good chance of being developed, “she says.

Coronavirus briefs. Everything you need to know about the global spread of COVID-19

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Write in Jasmine Aguilera [email protected].