‘Herd immunity’ refers to the extent to which a society has advance protection from a disease. So if we say a particular demographic has 65% immunity, that’s the extent they had a vaccination and / or a previous infection. The ‘iron law’ of herd immunity says ‘let them all get sick’ which happened in past times. We explore vaccination and the state of herd immunity in this post.
Unpacking Vaccination and the State of Herd Immunity
Having a vaccine is a gentler alternative to the iron law nowadays. It adds resources to our immune system, enabling us to prepare for a viral attack. The COVID-19 mRNA ones should be effective against new variants too. Whereas, natural immunity from infection may only afford protection against reinfection by the same version.
Politicians – and some epidemiologists – favored allowing the iron law to have its way at first. This was in early days, as the pandemic spread through travelers flying in and out of Wuhan, China. They believed sufficient of us would become immune to keep the disease within manageable proportions. But that proved not to be the case.
Looking Back and Forward – Where Are We Now?
We have not come anywhere close to reducing the number of new infections to zero, bar a few well-regulated exceptions. Although the rate is low among people with active protection from a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who refuse the free opportunity are passively casting themselves in the iron grip of herd immunity. Right now, Russia and some U.S. states are proving how ineffective this is.
So where do we stand on this in the midst of this pandemic? Neither vaccination nor herd immunity have brought us to a state in which we have liberty to feel safe. It follows we remain responsible to protect ourselves against the spreading infection. Whether we are no-vaccers or yes-vaccers we are in this together.
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Preview Image: Population Fully Vaccinated
