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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Prevention and Vaccination

Herd immunity

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˌhɜːd ɪˈmjuːnəti/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, herd immunity means: Indirect protection that happens when enough people in a community are immune to an infection, so it cannot spread easily and even unprotected people are less likely to catch it.

In Turkish: toplum bağışıklığı, sürü bağışıklığı

How it is used

Discussed with vaccination targets. The herd immunity threshold depends on how contagious the disease is: for measles it is around 95 percent. Also called community immunity or population immunity, terms many health agencies now prefer.

Example sentences

  1. Babies too young to be vaccinated rely on herd immunity for protection.

  2. If coverage falls below 95 percent, herd immunity against measles may be lost.

Common collocations

  • herd immunity threshold
  • achieve herd immunity
  • community immunity
  • population immunity
  • vaccinationGiving a vaccine to a person so that their immune system learns to protect them against a specific infectious disease.
  • vaccination coverageThe percentage of people in a target group who have received a particular vaccine or all the required doses, such as children who had two doses of measles vaccine by age two.
  • basic reproduction numberThe average number of people one infected person would pass the infection to in a population where nobody is immune. It is written R0 and read 'R nought' or 'R zero'.
  • transmissionThe passing of an infection from one person, animal or source to another, for example through the air, by touch, through food and water or by insects.

More terms: Prevention and Vaccination

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.