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04/16/2021

Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person less likely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected, not just those who are immune. Often, a percentage of the population must be capable of getting a disease in order for it to spread. This is known as the herd immunity threshold. The percentage of a community that needs to be immune in order to achieve herd immunity varies from disease to disease. The more contagious a disease is, the greater the proportion of the population that needs to be immune to the disease to stop its spread. For example, the measles is a highly contagious illness. It is estimated that 94% of the population must be immune to interrupt the chain of transmission.

04/09/2021

As the COVID-19 global pandemic persists and the country slowly inches its way toward herd immunity, many Americans remain reluctant to get the vaccine and demand for the much sought-after inoculation has waned in recent weeks. Everything from skepticism, personal beliefs, a “wait and see” mentality and even misinformation have contributed to the waning of numbers of those signing up to get the vaccine.