Herd immunity theory and the control of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The novel coronavirus infection was detected in the world at the end of December 2019. The pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus infection is named "COVID-19". Novel coronavirus has different coping strategies from various countries such as China and the UK, from the early diagnosis of "unknown pneumonia" to the continuous spread of the epidemic and the rapid growth of pneumonia cases. Is Britain's "herd immunity" strategy working? To focus on the second question, this study attempts to discuss and illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the "herd immunity" strategy in the management and control of COVID-19 by introducing the principles and methods of herd immunity, as well as previous cases, in combination with the theoretical model applied to COVID-19. The results showed that the "herd immunity" strategy is difficult to implement in the process of containing the spread of COVID-19. This study provided a reference for the prevention research of other infectious diseases.