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Letters to the Editor

Let's not confuse herd immunity

Tuesday, 30 June 2020


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
[email protected]