Coronavirus: Can herd immunity helpful to eliminate COVID-19?

The coronavirus pandemic is spreading rapidly and showing no signs of decelerate, it has reached new countries and claimed more lives.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Saturday evening, the virus has infected more than 284,525 people worldwide and claimed at least 11,842 lives.

Amid the coronavirus spread, so many questions have been raised about the phenomenon named “herd immunity,” and can we really reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by making people immune to this disease or not?

What is Herd Immunity?

Herd immunity refers to a phenomenon where a large section of the population has enough immune to the particular pandemic virus to reduce its spread.

When a large proportion of the population produces ‘herd immunity’, the risk of spreading the virus will thus be reduced.

According to experts, the Corona virus is infecting a large number of people but those who are healthy are less likely to become infected in the future.

There are only two ways to prevent the virus, whether its vaccine is available or the immune system will be able to fight it.

Coronavirus Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus in Pakistan and Around the World

Martin Hybrid, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says 70 percent of the population infected with the virus so automatically people around them develop immunity to resist the virus.

Does herd immunity helpful against virus like Corona?

According to Matthew Bells, a professor of infection and ecology at the University of Liverpool, herd immunity would not be helpful for a virus such as Corona, because one coronavirus patient can transmit their disease to five to six people.

Herd immunity is helpful only if 50% or more of the population has a immune response to the virus.

Only taking precautions are the possible solution to the virus, according to Professor Matthew Bells, such as community distance measures such as closing schools, working from home, avoiding large gatherings, and repeated hand washing.