What is the immunity of the herd?

In immunology, the immunity of the herd refers to a situation where the high percentage of the population is immune to the disease, which basically stops the disease in its footsteps because it cannot find new hosts. You can also hear this concept known as "community immunity". The threshold value for the immunity of the herd varies depending on the disease, with more virulent agents require vaccination of a higher percentage of the population to create the required immunity. In addition to using disease prevention, the immunity of the community is also used to combat ongoing focus. Most vaccination policies focus on creating community immunity. Many countries require vaccination in childhood, for example, protecting children from common diseases and ensuring that when these diseases enter the population, prey children or adults who have previously been vaccinated or exposed to diseases cannot. Creating the herd is particularly important in crowded environments that facing the spread of diseases such as schools.

Immunologists are trying to prevent the outbreak of diseases by creating widespread immunity, but are not always successful. Sometimes the disease mutates or is completely new, or is a defective dose of vaccination, or a large percentage of the population cannot vaccinate, creating a situation where focus can occur, as most of the population is vulnerable. In the event of an outbreak of great illness, agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) can send teams within a few days to find out the cause of the outbreak and create a vaccine in the hope of creating a herd's immunity to stop the focus in their footsteps.

In some diseases, immune threshold values ​​are up to 50%, especially in combination with good hygiene. In other cases, up to 90% of the population may need to be vaccinated to create the desired protection. It is also extremely important for accepting regular boosters, because some vaccines lose their effectiveness over time, so people are vulnerable to the focus. ANDThe Munita herd has led to eradication of smallpox and explains why diseases such as polio and diphtheria are rare in developed countries with established vaccination policies.

The concept of the herd immunity is often used to encourage unwilling parents to vaccinate their children. In addition to ensuring that their children are protected from fully preventive diseases, society vaccination also benefits society by creating widespread protection from disease. It can also be reminded to adults to accept boosters to help protect their communities.