COVID-19 herd immunity: where are we?

• Published in: Nature reviews. Immunology Vol. 20; no. 10; pp. 583 - 584
• Main Authors: Fontanet, Arnaud, Cauchemez, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.10.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/326/590; 692/699/255/2514; Antibodies, Viral - biosynthesis; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - virology; Betacoronavirus - immunology; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Comment; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Health aspects; Herd immunity; Humans; Immunity, Cellular - drug effects; Immunity, Herd; Immunity, Humoral - drug effects; Immunologic Memory - drug effects; Immunology; Infection; Mass Vaccination; Pandemics; Pandemics - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - immunology; Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; SARS-CoV-2; Severity of Illness Index; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - virology; Time Factors; Vaccination; Viral Vaccines - administration & dosage
• ISSN: 1474-1733; 1474-1741; 1474-1741
• DOI: 10.1038/s41577-020-00451-5

Herd immunity is a key concept for epidemic control. It states that only a proportion of a population needs to be immune (through overcoming natural infection or through vaccination) to an infectious agent for it to stop generating large outbreaks. A key question in the current COVID-19 pandemic is how and when herd immunity can be achieved and at what cost. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of herd immunity has become a topic of much debate. This Comment examines the factors that determine it, discusses how far we have come and considers what it will take to reach herd immunity safely.