Herd Immunity: Community Immunity

Herd immunity cannot occur through vaccination. However since the same person cannot be infected twice, Herd immunity may occur once there

Herd immunity is essential in a community where people are unable to be vaccinated. The greater the quantity of people that are immune to a disease, the lower the chance of someone who is vulnerable contracting said disease. Whooping cough is an excellent example of a vaccine that strongly relies on herd immunity. With whooping cough, babies are particularly at risk of infection, therefore it is essential that immediate family members such as the; mother, father and grandparents are all immunised before coming into contact with the

Those who cannot be vaccinated or for whom vaccines are not effective rely on the concept of “herd immunity” to protect themselves; it is a social responsibility to get vaccinated in order to protect the rest of the population. There are many people in Canada who are completely unable to be vaccinated– people without a fully-functioning immune system, people undergoing chemotherapy treatment, people with HIV, newborn babies, and the elderly. However, when a certain portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, the other members of the community are protected against that disease because of “herd immunity”– if 95% of the population is vaccinated, the disease cannot spread

The original definition of herd immunity pertained to the protective effect that ensued when a population contracted and recuperated naturally from infections. Natural immunity lasts a lifetime whereas vaccine generated immunity does not. There is no question that a disease outbreak can happen in a non-immune population, if a virus is introduced there, but the notion of herd immunity as it is erroneously applied to vaccines is being used to maneuver using disinformation and fear to compel the public into consenting to receive vaccinations contrary to their uninformed will.

When a majority of a community is vaccinated against a contagious disease such as measles, most members of that community are also protected because there is little chance of an outbreak occurring. This also protects those who are not eligible to receive these vaccinations such as young infants, pregnant women, and those who aren’t able to receive vaccinations due to health reasons. Herd immunity protects you, your mother and father, your aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, sons and daughters, your friends, and your neighbors.

Eighty to ninety percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent the potential spread of a disease (percent depends on the infectiousness of the disease). Another valid reason to vaccinate oneself is to create a secure blanket of immune people to protect the unfortunate individuals without the choice of becoming vaccinated. The strategy of protecting others who have not received vaccinations is called herd immunity, which is a more essential reason to become vaccinated compared to only protecting oneself. Those who cannot receive vaccinations are people that have severe allergic reactions to the preservatives in vaccines and younger children. In a Ted Talk, Romina Libster explains the importance of herd immunity, “People who are

Vaccinations play a very large part in the prevention of diseases spreading. When enough people, 95% according to the CDC, have been vaccinated, the other 5% not vaccinated are protected through herd immunity (Kluger). This term is often used in discussion with

The “herd” community is another word for a number of people in a community. The word “herd” is used because in a herd has many people just like a community does. A chain of a certain disease can break if the next person the disease reaches is vaccinated. The higher the number of people that are getting vaccinated more disease chains are likely to break. The necessary percent of vaccinations need to prevent a disease outbreak is 70-100% (Netzley 56). This also protects people who cannot get vaccinated. People can’t get vaccinated if they have poor health, their age, or going through chemotherapy. The “herd” community can help these people by reaching the 70-100% vaccination rate, and there is a less chance of having a disease outbreak; therefore, the disease chain can break before it reaches the people who cannot get vaccinated. In 2005, a little girl contracted the polio disease; she then spread the disease to four other children. The community that the little girl was in reached the 70-100% vaccination rate, and there was never any outbreak of polio (“Should Vaccinations be” 2017). People can die from certain diseases every year, but if the community around a person who cannot get vaccinated is vaccinated then those people could save that person's life.

Herd immunity exists when the maximum amount of people are vaccinated, reducing the risk of infection for people at serious risk (i.e. immunocompromised adults, chemotherapy patients, or newborns). When fewer people are unvaccinated, a disease has fewer hosts to spread to. At this point, most states allow vaccination exemption for religious or “moral” conflicts in addition to medical reasons. People who exempt vaccines

Ragan & Duffy (2012, p.23) have also shown high immunization rates have resulted in a substantial decline in vaccine preventable diseases, particularly vaccination has eliminated smallpox worldwide. In addition, in a study by Bawah, Phillips, Adjuik & smith et al (2010, p.95) found that vaccination has resulted in a large and statistically significant reduction child mortality. The risk of dying for children younger than five who are fully immunized is reduced by more than 70% compared with those who are not immunized or partially immunized. Moreover, research by Dawson (2011, p.1032) also suggests that vaccination is a vital intervention in reducing illness and death rates in children and he estimated approximately 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year by vaccination. In addition to personal immunity Vaccination programs also bring herd immunity which ensures even greater protection for the community from communicable diseases. The level of vaccination required to provide herd immunity varies with virulence and transmissibility as well as vaccine efficacy. While vaccinating

Herd immunity is the form of immunity that directly occurs as a result of individuals who are vaccinated versus those who are not. In a given naive population, the west nile virus can spread randomly throughout individuals, with the contact of each other only accelerating the spread. In a population where half has randomly received some form of vaccination, certain barriers between those that are vaccinated can protect specific individuals who have not been vaccinated against the spread of the virus (Vaccines Today, 2015). In all, the percentage of infected individuals is much less in a somewhat vaccinated population than in an entirely naive population. Herd immunity can develop in the initial stages of the use of the west nile virus

The term "herd immunity" first appeared in a paper published in 1923, entitled “The Spread Of Bacterial Infection - The Problem Of Herd Immunity" (Topley & Wilson, 1923). Herd immunity refers to the protection of populations from infection, which is brought about by the presence of immune individuals (Anderson & May, 1985). Herd immunity occurs when the proportion of people in a population that has immunity to a pathogen is so high, the pathogen cannot find enough susceptible hosts to infect and consequently can no longer survive (Coico & Sunshine, 2015).

When children who have been vaccinated do contract a disease, despite being vaccinated against it, they usually have milder symptoms with less serious complications than an un-vaccinated child that gets the same disease. It is true that some children who receive vaccinations may still become ill when exposed to other disease-ridden children. Research shows that 70-90% of the entire population must be vaccinated to attain “herd immunity”, “the resistance of a group to attack by a disease to which a large proportion of the members are immune.” (Farlex, 2012) When herd immunity is accomplished the spread of the disease can be averted throughout. If all parents were to take proper responsibilities and keep their children’s immunizations up-to-date, herd immunity would be achieved against all 16 of the major life threatening diseases.

Having the immunity when your child is exposed to the disease is extremely important. Vaccines have come a long way and many diseases have been eradicated due to people choosing to vaccinate.

Vaccination is another form of keeping our children healthy, especially when they are in school or daycare center. They are exposed to all kinds of illnesses and diseases, by getting them vaccinated their immune system will eventually starts