# Isn't the concept of herd immunity a bit absurd? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 7, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-the-concept-of-herd-immunity-a-bit-absurd/914654 "2020-07-07T18:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 70
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-the-concept-of-herd-immunity-a-bit-absurd/914654/70 "2020-07-12T16:55:12Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > In this thread you’ve thrown a lot of shade about who is unserious, or naive, or just has unworkable ideas. You’re suggested that countries that have done admirable jobs containing the virus are not serious enough to your liking. > > If clamping down on new cases isn’t to your liking, but you’re not a fan of killing millions of people to get “herd immunity” (which may not be possible), and we agree that a vaccine may not be delivered in 2021 (if at all), what are you advocating for here? You misread. (And it is sort of cute to be accusing _me_ of throwing the shade in this thread.) I have stated, very clearly, that IF their planners not also considering futures in which they cannot maintain their low levels forever, THEN they would be being very “unserious.” If they are not very nervous about their approach happening to break down just as influenza picks up to, then are are not as worried as they should be. To the degree that they are behaving as if they have already won, and are not considering what a future in which SARS-CoV-2 is an endemic virus across the world looks like for them, I believe they are dropping the ball. More power to them for having, for whatever reasons, been in a position that travel restrictions coupled with aggressive contact tracing and isolation have been able to keep rates very low to date. Best wishes for them being able to maintain that for however long such is required. And sure hoping they are prepared for that not succeeding. My advocated positions have been written many times in this forum. [Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/141) and [here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/establishing-criteria-for-dealing-with-pandemics/853735/37) for example. From the second - > [@](#): > > … Keeping the brakes fully applied until and if there is a vaccine is not a good plan. Depending on a vaccine as the only path is not a good plan. It is a great hope, but not a plan. > > Rushing to herd immunity is not a good plan. > > Cautiously finding _the moving point_ that maximally reduces the damages of the interventions while controlling the intensity of disease within the population within some, to be determined, acceptable parameters, hoping for a vaccine but meanwhile trying to advance to a path forward that lives with the disease if that is what the future requires … is not a good plan. It is however _the least poor one_ . And that parameter won’t be zero any more than it will be just below healthcare system capacity. … --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-the-concept-of-herd-immunity-a-bit-absurd/914654)._