Let's not confuse herd immunity

FE Team | Published: June 29, 2020 21:11:09

We've paid some price by not taking adequate cautionary measures during the initial part of the coronavirus outbreak. Almost 140,000 people got infected with Covid-19 and over 1700 died by this time. After 66 days of shutdown, authorities reopened the economy and some offices despite rise in the curve. A large number of people are going to public places, posing higher risk of infection, as a Chinese health team found the situation worrisome.
Now, we may do mistake of relying on what is called herd immunity. It's is an indirect protection provided by major portion of a population who are immune to an infectious disease to those who are not immune to the disease. If that happens, it would be a blessing but relaxing social distancing and non-compliance to health protocols would be a dangerous option. We hope, we will not do the second mistake that can lead to a worsening situation.
Abu Yusuf
Kalabagan, Dhaka
yusuf.ma@yahoo.com