Can herd immunity really protect us from coronavirus?

Mar 14, 2020

A man, wearing a protective mask, walks through an empty street due to the coronavirus outbreak in central Madrid, Spain, March 14, 2020.

Herd immunity is being discussed as a potential strategy to combat the coronavirus, COVID-19. Image: REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Jeremy Rossman

Honorary Senior Lecturer in Virology and President of Research-Aid Networks, University of Kent

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This is what different countries are doing to stop coronavirus from spreading

A chart showing how herd immunity works, in the context of immunisations.

How herd immunity works, in the context of immunisations. Image: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)

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