dohboi wrote:
• But polling suggests that up to a third of the country will refuse to take any such vaccine. So that would put the number down below 50%, even with a pretty effective vaccine, far below what anyone thinks the herd immunity percentage is for this thing. Even with many Americans apparently working hard to achieve 'natural' herd immunity, we will not likely get there for quite a while, again, even with a fairly effective vaccine. And of course, the virus being new, no one knows how long either natural or vaccine immunity will last.
Let's be realistic about this. If you are old or with comorbidity issues and there is a vaccine available and you refuse it than the social contract society has with you has been fulfilled and if you die as a result it is your fault alone.
All of the younger population who are healthy who opt out of the vaccine aren't going to die if they catch Covid19 so the impact wont be felt beyond a few sick days with flu like symptoms. If even!
A vaccine taken by the vulnerable population means that herd immunity is no longer necessary. It would be necessary if Covid19 killed indiscriminately across all age groups and to both healthy and sick. But we only need vaccinate the vulnerable population in the case of Covid19.
With a vaccine the whole topic of herd immunity becomes irrelevant exactly because we know which segment of society is vulnerable and a vaccine only needs to target this segment.
If the goal like smallpox is to completely eliminate the virus then yes we could attempt herd immunity and force everyone to get vaccinated.
But Covid19 is innocuous for the vast majority of the population and a full scale herd immunity like small pox is not necessary and is not going to happen.
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
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