THAT
THAT MIGHT BE AN AREA YOU WANT TO AVOID THIS MORNING.
>>> THANK YOU.
AS WE HEAR MORE AND MORE STATES
ARE REPORTING A RISE IN COVID-
19 CASES, SOME MAY BE WONDERING
IF IT'S BETTER TO JUST GO OUT
AND GET THE VIRUS TO GET IT OVER
WITH.
WITH.
WITH. THERE IS THAT KIND OF THINKING
AND THEN THINKING THAT BY DOING
SO THAT YOU COULD ACHIEVE HERD
IMMUNITY FASTER.
IMMUNITY FASTER. OUR HEALTH EXPERT JOINS US THIS
MORNING TO TALK ABOUT THE TRAIN
OF THOUGHT.
OF THOUGHT. GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR
JOINING US.
JOINING US. CAN YOU REMIND US WHAT THIS IS
AND HOW IS IT RELEVANT TO
CONTAINING THE SPREAD OF THE
DISEASE?
DISEASE?
DISEASE? >> Reporter: GOOD MORNING,
NATASHA.
NATASHA.
NATASHA. HERD IMMUNITY IS AN IMPORTANT
CONCEPT IN INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
I'M GLAD YOU ASKED AND WE
SHOULD TALK ABOUT IT.
BASICALLY, IT MEANS THAT IF
ENOUGH PEOPLE ACTUALLY DEVELOP
COMMUNITY, IT CAN SLOW THE
SPREAD OF THE INFECTION.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP PANEL
SOME OF THE PEOPLE SHOWN IN
BLUE ARE NAIVE TO DO THE
DISEASE OR HAVE NOT DEVELOPED
IT AND THEY DO NOT HAVE
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY. YOU CAN SEE THE PEOPLE IN RED
ARE THE ONES THAT ARE INFECTED
AND THE INFECTION CAN SPREAD
VERY QUICKLY IF NOBODY HAS
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO THE
BOTTOM PANEL WHERE THE PEOPLE IN
YELLOW HAVE IMMUNITY AND YOU
CAN SEE THAT THE PEOPLE IN RED
ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE THE
INFECTION AND IT SLOWS THE
SPREAD OF THE INFECTION MUCH
MORE IF PEOPLE HAVE IMMUNITY
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT VECTORS TO
THEN TRANSMIT THE INFECTION.
SO THERE IS TWO WAYS YOU CAN
DEVELOP IMMUNITY. THE FIRST IS
TO GET THE INFECTION, RECOVER,
AND HAVE ANTIBODIES OR IMMUNITY
AGAINST THE INFECTION. THE
SECOND IS TO HAVE VACCINATION
AS A WAY TO DEVELOP HERD
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY. EVERY DISEASE HAS A DIFFERENT
THRESHOLD FOR WHAT LEVEL OF THE
POPULATION NEEDS TO HAVE
IMMUNITY IN ORDER TO SLOW THE
SPREAD.
SPREAD.
SPREAD. THE MORE INFECTIOUS THE
DISEASE, THE HIGHER THE
THRESHOLD. IN THE CASE OF THE
NOVEL CORONAVIRUS, IT'S ABOUT
60% OR 60% OF THE POPULATION
NEEDS TO HAVE IMMUNITY IN ORDER
TO SLOW THE SPREAD.
>> WHAT ABOUT THAT IDEA FOR
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO SAY THAT THEY
WANT TO GO OUT AND GET INFECTED
TO HELP ACHIEVE
HERD IMMUNITY?
HERD IMMUNITY? IS THERE ANY TRUTH IN THAT?
>> NO, IN FACT, IT IS A VERY
DANGEROUS CONCEPT.
DANGEROUS CONCEPT. WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS IS
A FAILED EXPERIMENT BASED ON
WHAT HAPPENED IN SWEDEN.
SO IN SWEDEN THEY ACTUALLY TRIED
TO TEST THIS CONCEPT OUT BY
LETTING PEOPLE GO OUT AND GET
INFECTED AS A WAY TO ACHIEVE
HERD IMMUNITY AND THE ENDED UP
HAVING LOTS AND LOTS OF DEATHS.
WHEN THEY DID ANTIBODY TESTING
IN STOCKHOLM, WHICH IS THE MOST
POPULOUS PART OF SWEDEN, ONLY
7% OF THEM ACTUALLY HAD
ANTIBODIES AGAINST IT. SO IF
YOU THINK ABOUT THE UNITED
STATES, TO GET TO THE 60%
THRESHOLD, 1 MILLION AMERICANS
WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET SICK
EVERY SINGLE WEEK FOR THE NEXT
THREE AND A HALF YEARS AND THEY
WOULD HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT
COMMUNITY OVER A LONG AMOUNT OF
TIME IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HERD
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY.
IMMUNITY. SO THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A
GOOD IDEA, BECAUSE WE ARE ALWAYS
AWAY FROM GETTING THE
INFECTION.
INFECTION. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN REALLY
THINK ABOUT GETTING THIS IS TO
HAVE THAT VACCINE COME TO OUR
RESCUE.
RESCUE.
RESCUE. AND THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS
ALSO THAT WE DON'T HAVE
TREATMENTS NOW AND WE WILL
LATER, SO GOING OUT AND GETTING
SICK NOW INTENTIONALLY IS
DEFINITELY NOT ADVISED.
>> YOU COULD OVERLOAD THE
HOSPITALS AS WELL. IT COULD
REALLY NOT TURN OUT WELL.
SO YOU BRING UP THE VACCINE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT AND HOW
THAT CAN GIVE US HERD IMMUNITY.
WHERE ARE WE WHEN IT COMES TO
THE STATUS OF THE VACCINE?
>> YOU KNOW, WE ARE GETTING
MUCH CLOSER.
MUCH CLOSER. SO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT
VACCINES ARE NOW IN PHASE THREE
TRIALS ALL ACROSS THE WORLD.
HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, THE
FRONT RUNNER IS THE MATERNAL
VACCINE WHICH IS INTENDED TO
ENTER PHASE THREE TRIAL IN JULY
. PHASE THREE TRIAL IS THE LAST
PHASE OF TESTING WHERE YOU LOOK
AT A LARGE POPULATION OF PEOPLE
TO TRY TO PICK UP RARE SIDE
EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE AND MAKE
SURE THAT IT WORKS.
THIS VACCINE THAT IS GOING TO
START TESTING IN JULY WILL HAVE
30000 PEOPLE. WE EXPECT THAT IN
ABOUT SIX MONTHS OR SO WE WILL
HAVE THE RESULTS OF THAT AND
THEN WE CAN MANUFACTURE AND
ADMINISTER IT.
ADMINISTER IT. SO WE ARE GETTING MUCH