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Herd immunity

About: Herd immunity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2124 publications have been published within this topic receiving 60107 citations. The topic is also known as: community immunity & herd effect.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Historical, epidemiologic, theoretical, and pragmatic public health perspectives on the concept of herd immunity are provided.
Abstract: The term "herd immunity" is widely used but carries a variety of meanings. Some authors use it to describe the proportion immune among individuals in a population. Others use it with reference to a particular threshold proportion of immune individuals that should lead to a decline in incidence of infection. Still others use it to refer to a pattern of immunity that should protect a population from invasion of a new infection. A common implication of the term is that the risk of infection among susceptible individuals in a population is reduced by the presence and proximity of immune individuals (this is sometimes referred to as "indirect protection" or a "herd effect"). We provide brief historical, epidemiologic, theoretical, and pragmatic public health perspectives on this concept.

973 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In low-income countries, infectious diseases still account for a large proportion of deaths, highlighting health inequities largely caused by economic differences, and vaccination can cut health-care costs and reduce these inequities.
Abstract: In low-income countries, infectious diseases still account for a large proportion of deaths, highlighting health inequities largely caused by economic differences. Vaccination can cut health-care costs and reduce these inequities. Disease control, elimination or eradication can save billions of US dollars for communities and countries. Vaccines have lowered the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and will control cervical cancer. Travellers can be protected against "exotic" diseases by appropriate vaccination. Vaccines are considered indispensable against bioterrorism. They can combat resistance to antibiotics in some pathogens. Noncommunicable diseases, such as ischaemic heart disease, could also be reduced by influenza vaccination. Immunization programmes have improved the primary care infrastructure in developing countries, lowered mortality in childhood and empowered women to better plan their families, with consequent health, social and economic benefits. Vaccination helps economic growth everywhere, because of lower morbidity and mortality. The annual return on investment in vaccination has been calculated to be between 12% and 18%. Vaccination leads to increased life expectancy. Long healthy lives are now recognized as a prerequisite for wealth, and wealth promotes health. Vaccines are thus efficient tools to reduce disparities in wealth and inequities in health.

882 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This new popularity of herd immunity comes as a consequence of several recent major achievements of vaccination programs, i.e.: the historic success of the global smallpox eradication program; dramatic increases in vaccination coverage stimulated by national programs and by the Expanded Programme on Immunization.
Abstract: Herd immunity has to do with the protection of populations from infection which is brought about by the presence of immune individuals. The concept has a special aura, in its implication of an extension of the protection imparted by an immunization program beyond vaccinated to unvaccinated individuals and in its apparent provision of a means to eliminate totally some infectious diseases. It is a recurrent theme in the medical literature and has been discussed frequently during the past decade. This new popularity comes as a consequence of several recent major achievements of vaccination programs, i.e.: the historic success of the global smallpox eradication program; dramatic increases in vaccination coverage stimulated by national programs and by the Expanded Programme on Immunization; the commitment of several countries to eradicate measles; and international dedication to eliminate neonatal tetanus and to eradicate poliomyelitis from the world by the year 2000.'

818 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The effect of influenza on mortality is much greater in Japan than in the United States and can be measured about equally well in terms of deaths from all causes and deaths attributed to pneumonia or influenza.
Abstract: Background Influenza epidemics lead to increased mortality, principally among elderly persons and others at high risk, and in most developed countries, influenza-control efforts focus on the vaccination of this group. Japan, however, once based its policy for the control of influenza on the vaccination of schoolchildren. From 1962 to 1987, most Japanese schoolchildren were vaccinated against influenza. For more than a decade, vaccination was mandatory, but the laws were relaxed in 1987 and repealed in 1994; subsequently, vaccination rates dropped to low levels. When most schoolchildren were vaccinated, it is possible that herd immunity against influenza was achieved in Japan. If this was the case, both the incidence of influenza and mortality attributed to influenza should have been reduced among older persons. Methods We analyzed the monthly rates of death from all causes and death attributed to pneumonia and influenza, as well as census data and statistics on the rates of vaccination for both Japan and ...

816 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
19 May 2020-Immunity
TL;DR: The basic concepts of herd immunity are explained and its implications in the context of COVID-19 are discussed, showing the devastating impact of a novel, infectious pathogen on a susceptible population.

805 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023279
2022835
2021444
2020251
2019119
201886