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Public Health and Viruses
Published in Patricia G. Melloy, Viruses and Society, 2023
One cannot discuss public health and viral pathogens without mentioning the concept of herd immunity. As mentioned in Chapter 1, herd immunity has to do with the number of people in the population who are not likely to get an infectious disease either through preexisting immunity or vaccination (Fine 1993; Piot et al. 2019). Conveying the importance of herd immunity is critical in any kind of disease outbreak when a vaccine campaign is necessary. Herd immunity flies in the face of the personal freedom argument against vaccination, in the sense that the decision to be vaccinated does not only affect one person, but also the quality of life of all individuals in your community, especially the very young and the immunocompromised who cannot be protected by a vaccine. Another way to put herd immunity is that it can break the “chain of infection” in diseases that are transmitted from one person to another, like a respiratory illness. Protection from herd immunity can start to be seen with as few as 40% of the population vaccinated, but for most infectious diseases, 80%–95% of people in the population would need to be vaccinated to see the benefits of herd immunity (Philadelphia 2022). As one can see from this typical high percentage vaccinated requirement, herd immunity requires all or almost all able adults and young adults to be vaccinated, almost like a call to service against a viral pathogen.
COVID-19 and Global Public Goods
Published in Rui Nunes, Healthcare as a Universal Human Right, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a paradoxical effect on most countries. On the one hand, the need to protect human rights was emphasized, namely the right to access healthcare, nondiscrimination, and protection of privacy. On the other hand, since this is a very serious public health problem, restrictive measures of human rights were implemented in accordance with the collective interest from a utilitarian perspective of the pursuit of public interest. There were two main drivers: first, to flatten the pandemic curve and therefore, reduce the pressure on the healthcare system. Second, to achieve robust community protection from COVID-19. For a country to reach herd immunity, 80% to 85% of the population needs to be vaccinated. Therefore, improving vaccination rates will require adequate planning and a strategic delivery plan.
The COVID-19 pandemic and development of drugs and vaccinations
Published in Edward M. Rafalski, Ross M. Mullner, Healthcare Analytics, 2022
As mentioned in the earlier section, vaccines are usually administered to the whole population and/or targeted groups before they are exposed to the virus or the disease to reduce the spread of the virus or disease. Vaccines train the immune system to recognize and attack a virus, even one it hasn’t seen before. The vaccinations which fall into the prevention category help reduce the number of susceptible individuals in the population. This protection is known as herd or community immunity9. In other words, herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (or herd) becomes immune to a virus or disease, making the spread of the virus or disease from person to person highly unlikely. As a result, the whole community (or herd) becomes protected – not just those who are immune. Figure 16.1 highlights the concept of herd immunity.
COVID-19: seroprevalence and adherence to preventive measures in Arkhangelsk, Northwest Russia
Published in Infectious Diseases, 2023
Ekaterina Krieger, Ekaterina Sharashova, Alexander V. Kudryavtsev, Olga Samodova, Anna Kontsevaya, Tormod Brenn, Vitaly Postoev
Level of antibodies correlating with antiviral protection as well as the proportion of the population immune to SARS-CoV-2 required to reach the herd immunity remain unknown [60]. Due to the individual-level infection-acquired or vaccine-induced immunity is short-lived and wanes rapidly over time, herd immunity might never be reached [61]. By the middle of 2021, over 70% of the population of Arkhangelsk became seropositive to SARS-CoV-2. Regardless of that, the rate of new cases registered in Arkhangelsk is still high. It can be due to the new strains of SARS-CoV-2 regularly appearing, while immunity wanes after both the infection and immunization. Nevertheless, regular seroprevalence studies should continue to be conducted in order to reveal changes in the proportion of the susceptible population [62].
Lessons learned from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; from nucleic acid nanomedicines, to clinical trials, herd immunity, and the vaccination divide
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 2023
Hiba Hussain, Aishwarya Ganesh, Lara Milane, Mansoor Amiji
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has also revealed new clinical obstacles; the outcome of vaccination and infection from the SARS-CoV-2 has challenged the core concept of herd immunity. Herd immunity was expected with widespread infection and vaccination, yet this has not and most likely, will not be achieved. Herd resistance is more likely and more attainable. The SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to mutate too rapidly, persist with high levels of infectivity, and maintain environmental stability for herd immunity to occur with the current vaccines. More effective vaccines that are multivariant may enable herd immunity in the future. The pro- and anti- vaccination divide has been magnified during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and also contributes to the lack of herd immunity. Education and future separation of medicine and politics could help close this divide in the future. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed the landscape of science and medicine and will continue to have a global impact for decades to come. A question that is brought to light after the rapid nanomedicine nucleic acid vaccine development is, what else is ready and waiting on laboratory shelves?
Cost-effectiveness of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Denmark compared with PPV23
Published in Journal of Medical Economics, 2022
Jens Olsen, Henrik Schnack, Mette Skovdal, Jeffrey Vietri, Malene Buch Mikkelsen, Peter Bo Poulsen
The herd immunity from the childhood NIP was included in the analyses based on the change in the incidence of IPDs over time according to Statens Serum Institute. The mean incidence of IPDs in the Danish population aged ≥65 years was 66 per 100,000 between 2000 and 2007 (prior to inclusion of PCV in the childhood NIP) and by 2018 and 2019 it decreased to 47 and 36 per 100,000, respectively, equal to 41.5 per 100,000 on average in 2018 and 201915. The herd immunity was estimated based on the mean IPD incidence before introduction of PCV7 in the childhood NIP and the latest data after the introduction, to provide the average reduction in IPD cases. Thus, using a 15-year time difference (year 2003 to year 2018), resulted in an annual reduction of IPD cases due to herd immunity of 2.47%. Data on the herd immunity towards CAP was not available, why the herd immunity found for IPD was assumed to be the case for CAP as well. It was assumed that the herd immunity lasted for the entire time horizon.