“What is herd immunity and could it happen in the US?” [Guardian]. Interview with Dr Angela Rasmussen, virologist and associate research scientist, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Dr Amber D’Souza, professor of epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; Dr Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director, Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
Is there any possibility that we could achieve natural herd immunity to Covid-19?
D’Souza: The data suggest that nationwide, maybe 10% of Americans have been exposed. We’re not even close to achieving herd immunity through natural infection at this point.
Rasmussen: The idea that, “Well, we’re just stuck with it, so let’s all just get it over with and we’ll all have herd immunity”, is just not done. It would cause the deaths of millions of people and potentially the permanent disability of millions more. We can’t afford to pay that type of epidemiological price for herd immunity. We need to wait for a vaccine.
Lipsitch: The problem is that we’ll suffer in the process. So, it’s not that we can’t do it, it’s that we don’t want to do it, given the damage that we now know that it can cause.
I don’t think it’s scientifically wrong, I think it’s morally wrong.