You’ve heard the term used with horror on left-wing propaganda outlets like CNN, MSNBC, or the NY Times, how the evil Republicans’ Covid strategy is a “Herd Immunity” strategy with no safeguards against the virus; let the weak, old, and sick die. You don’t hear it much on the right-leaning media, never on the extreme right propaganda sources, probably because it has become such a loaded term.

But what is “Herd Immunity,” really? Is it as callous a goal as the extreme left want us to believe?

The short answer is, of course, a resounding “NO.” In fact, “Herd Immunity” is exactly what we want to happen.

“Herd Immunity” is not a political philosophy or a method to an end – regardless of what the propaganda masters want us to think it is. It is a scientific term used when discussing a population’s resistance to disease. It’s called that because it was first observed in domesticated livestock, but is equally applicable to human populations.

It works like this: When an illness – like Covid – is first introduced into a population, there’s nothing to stop it from incubating, replicating, and spreading unchecked throughout that population. We’ve discussed immune response before; it takes time for antibodies to be created to combat a new illness, which gives the illness a chance to spread, often rapidly and with disastrous results.

“Herd Immunity” happens when enough of the population has developed antibodies to an illness that the virus doesn’t have as much of a chance to gain a foothold. Our immune response to an illness we’ve had before is pretty quick, so the virus gets killed before it has time to invade as many cells, and that means we don’t spread the virus nearly as much. So when a certain percentage of the population has a good immune response to a particular virus, there aren’t as many viruses in the air to infect people and the population isn’t as impacted.

That’s “Herd Immunity.” It’s what we want, and it’s what we strive for; it’s our goal regardless of the methodology we use to get us there.

It’s the methodology that’s at issue. And the politics that seem to have dictated public health policy…

Taking limited precautions – or none – will get us to Herd Immunity the fastest – and at the highest cost. Doing it the way we have been – bass ackwards – will eventually get us there, but it’s the slowest method, and is costing us big dollars. It also leaves us open to a disastrous surge if any of the restrictions get lifted, even temporarily. Kind of like the surge we’re seeing now…

This is where proper prevention is key, and getting an effective vaccine out there is critical. It’s vaccines that allow us to reach Herd Immunity safely, and without the risk of actually contracting the disease. An effective vaccine allows our immune systems to develop antibodies without the detrimental effects of actually getting sick, so that when the “live” virus does invade, we’re ready; we’re far less likely to have symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization – or funeral arrangements – and we won’t spread it as far (which is the key component of “Herd Immunity”). We still need to protect the vulnerable, but that’s a lot easier when we don’t have to be paranoid about the rest of it.

So despite what some might want you to believe, “Herd Immunity” is a good thing. Help us get there. Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distance. And when you can, get the vaccine.