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WHO Changes the Definition of Herd Immunity

In June the World Health Organization posted an informational page on COVID-19 and included a definition of herd immunity that has been the standard for infectious diseases for decades, being an “indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.”

Many high-profile medical organizations also say that herd immunity can be achieved through natural infection. As of December 15, 2020, the Mayo Clinic, for example, says: “Herd immunity can also be reached when a sufficient number of people in the population have recovered from a disease and have developed antibodies against future infection.”

But in October, in an Orwellian move that totally disregards natural infection, the WHO quietly changed its definition of herd immunity to: “a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached.”

And just in case somebody misunderstands what they mean, they added: “Herd immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to it.”  

 

SOURCES:

WHO June 9, 2020

WHO October 15, 2020

Mayo Clinic December 15, 2020