Herd immunity by infection is not an option
In an article, published today in Science, Dr Deepti Gurdasani from Queen Mary University of London and Devi Sridhar from the University of Edinburgh explain why herd immunity by infection is not a strategy that should be considered for COVID-19.
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Illustration of a group social distancing
The authors highlight data from a recent study looking at the largely uncontrolled severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic in Manaus, the capital Amazonas state in Brazil.
“The findings show the impact on mortality rates of a largely unmitigated outbreak where even with an estimated 76% of the population being infected, herd immunity was not achieved,” they write.
“Manaus provides a cautionary example of unmitigated spread across a population, showing that herd immunity is likely not achieved even at high levels of infection and that it comes with unacceptably high costs.”
They conclude: “Governments need to focus on more precise nonpharmaceutical interventions, robust test/trace/isolate systems, border control measures, mass testing, better treatments, and development and delivery of vaccines. This is the most sustainable path for countries out of this pandemic.”
More information
Article: ‘Herd Immunity by Infection is not an option’ by Devi Sridhar and Deepti Gurdasani. Science. 15 Jan 2021: Vol. 371, Issue 6526, pp. 230-231 DOI: 10.1126/science.abf7921