• Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a pathogen that it prevents its further spread.
• The Netherlands says that herd immunity will be a side effect of its approach in containing the spread of COVID-19, but an infectious disease expert is skeptical of this.
• The UK has reconsidered a plan to achieve herd immunity and instead is attempting disease suppression through other measures like social isolation and possible self-quarantine for the highest risk individuals.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

This week, Mark Rutte, the prime minister of The Netherlands, announced the country’s approach to containing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing by encouraging people to work from home and avoid restaurants, bars, and public transit.

Rutte also mentioned the possibility of herd immunity, which was immediately met with backlash from experts who say deliberately exposing as many people to the virus to build an immune population is not a good idea.

Rutte quickly clarified that herd immunity would be a side effect of the country’s approach and not the focus. However, infectious disease expert Natalie Dean says that the safest way we’re likely to develop herd immunity …continued .
[Source: Business Insider]