Herd Immunity

As WHO recently declared Europe to be the new epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, Britain has come under criticism for its ‘soft approach’ to controlling the disease.

The Recent Issue in Britain

While other countries are racing to curb the spread of SARS CoV 2, UK has taken the ‘soft approach’ to deal with the disease. The government recently announced that it would control the spread but not completely suppress it. It claimed that a 60% infection of its population would help build herd immunity. Medical professionals have criticised the announcement as a ‘grave error’.

About Herd Immunity

The term herd immunity refers to a situation where sufficient percentage of a population is vaccinated and is immune to a disease, there is a lower chance for others of the population to get infected. It is also called herd protection or community immunity.

Past Examples

Till date, 2 diseases have been successfully eliminated using herd immunity: smallpox and rinderpest. Small pox was eradicated in 1980. Rinderpest, which affected cattle, was eradicated in 2011. Vaccination plays a key role in conferring herd immunity to a population.