The Herd Immunity Myths You Can Safely Ignore

The Real Truth About Vaccines

Most people benefit from herd immunity, even if they don’t understand what it is.

Anti-vaccine influencers are basically siding with the measles virus and other vaccine preventable diseases, as herd immunity is a big obstacle and keeps them from easily spreading in our communities.

And apparently, many people are talking about herd immunity without understanding what it is!

The Herd Immunity Myths You Can Safely Ignore

So that you don’t get misled by anti-vaccine influencers pushing these herd immunity myths, let’s review these herd immunity myths, such as that:

• Herd immunity through vaccination does not exist. - That vaccine induced herd immunity doesn’t exist is a ridiculous statement that has been proven wrong a thousand times. It is now on par with the idea that viruses don’t exist.

  

  Peter McCullough is pushing misinformation about herd immunity.

• You need 95% vaccination levels to reach herd immunity levels of protection. - Herd immunity is not a one size fits all thing. It is different for each disease and for each vaccine. For measles, herd immunity levels of protection is thought to be when at least 95% of people in the community are vaccinated. For other vaccine preventable diseases though, like chickenpox, smallpox, rubella, polio, mumps, and diphtheria, it might be just 85%.

• Natural immunity can lead to herd immunity levels of protection. - If natural immunity could lead to herd immunity, then why didn’t all of these diseases, like measles, rubella, chicken pox, pertussis, and Hib, etc., die out long ago? Of course, it is because new people will always be born, who will be susceptible to getting sick.

• Outbreaks shouldn’t happen if you have herd immunity. - Outbreaks happen, even when you have herd immunity levels of protection, because we live in open communities and people constantly travel in and out that can introduce diseases. Having herd immunity levels of protection does help ensure that these outbreaks are easy to control though.

• The MMR vaccine does not provide maternal immunity. - This is from RFK, Jr. and it isn’t true. Neither is RFK, Jr.’s idea that the MMR is a leaky vaccine.

  

  RFK, Jr pushes misinformation about herd immunity.

• I can just hide in the herd, free-riding on the protection of everyone else who is vaccinated. - While this is essentially what everyone who is intentionally unvaccinated is doing, it only works if the majority of people are vaccinated. Once anti-vaccine influencers get too popular, and we lose herd immunity levels of protection, the free ride ends.

• Vaccination destroys natural herd immunity. - This is from Andy Wakefield… He thinks it is better for kids to get vaccine preventable diseases when they are young, despite the fact that thousands of kids died each and every year in the United States when we did that.

• It is mathematically impossible for the United States to lose our measles free status. - This is from Steve Kirsch, who despite getting a degree from MIT, gets this vaccine issue wrong despite it only involving very basic math.

  

  Steve Kirsch pushes misinformation about herd immunity.

• Vaccination makes herd immunity worse. - This idea is being promoted by another MIT grad, Stephanie Seneff. Surprisingly, her idea isn’t about shedding, which might at least make a little sense. Instead, it is about vaccines promoting the creation of new variants, missing that non-vaccine preventable diseases also have variants.

One thing is clear, even as we continue to hear these myths about herd immunity.

Uh, herd immunity levels of protection helped eliminate the endemic spread of measles in the United States, helped us reach record low levels of cases and deaths, and kept cases relatively low for over 30 years!

And that is the very simple fact that anti-vaccine influencers simply do not understand herd immunity.

More on Herd Immunity

• Let’s Talk About Vaccine Preventable Disease Deaths

• Which Part of the Herd Gets Protected by Community Immunity?

• Dr. Bob Puts the Nail in the Coffin of the Herd Immunity Argument

• What Is Herd Immunity? Clarifying Common Misconceptions

• How Herd Immunity Works

• Andrew Wakefield claims “natural Herd Immunity” is better than anything vaccines can do, never mind all that suffering

• Herd Immunity: How Does It Work?

• Is herd immunity a myth? A response to Russell Blaylock, Part 1

• A Rough Guide to Herd Immunity