Achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 has become a critical goal across countries. It is seen as the key to ending the pandemic and returning to how things were before.
But what is herd immunity?
This term – also known as population immunity – happens when the effects of immunity from an individual level are scaled to the population size. This occurrence is often considered in the context of vaccinations. With herd immunity, even those who have not yet received their COVID-19 jabs will gain indirect protection from the disease. Since more and more people are vaccinated, it helps reduce the chances of disease transmission.
In Europe, about 81.4% of the adult population has received their full vaccine doses. Currently, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorises the use of the following COVID-19 vaccines:
- BioNTech and Pfizer
- Janssen
- Nuvaxovid
- Moderna
- AstraZeneca
Although governments are bolstering their efforts for vaccination programs, people must remember that being vaccinated does not make them completely impervious to the disease. They should not disregard pandemic protocols because doing so can endanger themselves and other individuals.
If you travel abroad, you need to abide by coronavirus testing mandates to show you are not at risk of infecting someone else. You also need to determine the type of test the destination country accepts. For example, you must know the necessary COVID test for USA to avoid any problems and ensure compliance. In addition, if you are an unvaccinated traveller entering the UK, you will need to quarantine for ten days and undergo the day 2 and 8 test.
If you have more questions about the COVID-19 vaccines and population immunity, check this infographic from Official Rapid Tests that discusses what herd immunity is and how it works.
Official Rapid Tests by Harley Medic International is a government-recognised and trusted provider of affordable COVID-19 testing kits. Contact them today via their website.