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Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. ⌕ * News + UK + Politics + Brexit + World + Health + Education + Technology + Science + Environment + Business + Long Reads * Opinion + Columnists + Comment + Editor + Your Views * Lifestyle + Travel + Food and Drink + Wellbeing + Money + People + Women + Homes and Gardens + Cars + Distractions * Culture + TV + Film + Music + Arts + Books + Gaming + Radio * Sport + Football + Cricket + Rugby Union + Formula 1 Search (BUTTON) ☰ * NHS Coronavirus: what is herd immunity and why is it so important? Without a vaccination a large enough number of people will have to contract Covid-19 and recover from it By Paul Gallagher March 13, 2020 11:38 pm Updated July 13, 2020 10:59 am Herd immunity occurs when a high percentage of the population is vaccinated making it difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not many people who can be infected. For example, if someone with measles is surrounded by people who are vaccinated against measles, the disease cannot easily be passed on to anyone, and it will quickly disappear again. Herd immunity gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies, elderly people and those who are too sick to be vaccinated. The i politics newsletter cut through the noise ____________________ Sign upEmail address is invalidEmail address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. * Coronavirus need to know: All the crucial information, in one place * Travel advice, if you’ve booked a trip, or are planning one * Coronavirus latest: Follow our live blog here * Follow our live blog on the impact of Coronavirus on the sporting world here If you live in an area where vaccine coverage is low, and your child is not vaccinated, it’s quite likely that many of the people they come into contact with will not be vaccinated either. If one of these people gets an infectious disease like measles, they can easily pass it on to the other unvaccinated people around them, and in some cases the disease can then spread very quickly through the population. This is what happened during the 2013 measles outbreak in Wales. However, our problem now is that there is no vaccination to protect against coronavirus – and there won’t be one for at least another 12-18 months. Therefore for the UK population to gain herd immunity, a large enough number of people – 60 per cent of the country, 40 million people, in the words of the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – will need to contract the virus and then recover. If that situation occurs then people will be less likely to get covid-19 in the future and the public can build up a resistance to it. Elderly people Elderly people are one of the key groups that rely on herd immunity to protect them, as they are more susceptible to disease. If they are able to isolate as much as possible during the coronavirus peak, once herd immunity is established isolation measures can be scaled back. Given Sir Patrick has said he believes Covid-19 will become an “annual virus”, building up herd immunity will be vital. The only problem is, with no vaccination available, no one knows how long it will take for 60 per cent of the population to be infected, as no country has reached that figure yet. And as cases in China have slowed markedly to a handful, no country may ever get there given the extreme measures being put in place by those worst affected. And as Oxford University’s Vaccine Knowledge Project points out, herd immunity does not protect against all vaccine-preventable diseases. The best example of this is tetanus, which is caught from bacteria in the environment, not from other people who have the disease. * Covid-19 * Iweekend Most Popular Pub landlord 'hacks' substantial meal rule by serving bowls of Huel with pints of beer Food & Drink 110 of the best Christmas jokes and funniest festive one-liners Jokes When the Covid tiers will be reviewed ahead of Christmas UK The UK stores where you can buy the new PS5 - and how often new stocks are coming in Technology The calendar of festivites being marked by the 'December Holidays' Google Doodle World The i newsletter latest news and analysis ____________________ Sign upEmail address is invalidEmail address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. 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