COVID-19: Does It Matter if We Never Reach Herd Immunity?
“It would be great if we reached that threshold. I think it’s very questionable that we will, and I also think we don’t need to achieve true herd immunity to return to a normal lifestyle.” by Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times / March 8, 2021 TNS
(TNS) Of all the epidemiological jargon that has spilled over into our common vocabulary during this pandemic, none has captured the popular imagination more than herd immunity.
Few of us considered ourselves part of a herd before, but the concept rooted in livestock management made it disconcertingly clear that we, too, are animals at the mercy of a microbe. Then herd immunity became a political flashpoint for those who argued it was better to let the virus rampage than impose lockdowns.
Scientists underestimated the coronavirus — and are racing to keep up with evolution msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
For most of 2020, scientists weren't very concerned that the coronavirus would evolve. But in a few short months, variants of the virus have become a global preoccupation and a potential threat to vaccines.
When the doctor is the patient
A kidney transplant and a cancer diagnosis helped shape the career of infection-control expert Steve Pergam March 23, 2015 • By Mary Engel / Fred Hutch News Service As director of infection control at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and an infectious disease researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dr. Steve Pergam works to protect a subset of people who are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases: cancer patients. Here he is shown with graduate research assistant Arianna Miles-Jay. Photo by Bo Jungmayer / Fred Hutch News Service
As a first-year medical student at University of Nebraska Medical Center, Dr. Steve Pergam volunteered for a vaccine campaign in Nicaragua, bringing basic childhood immunizations to squatters living in cardboard shacks. When he returned to Nicaragua the following spring to deliver a second round of immunizations, he found that local health care