Open AccessChallenges of vaccination and herd immunity in COVID‐19 and management strategies
Author(s) -
She Jun,
Hou Dongni,
Chen Cuicui,
Bi Jing,
Song Yuanlin
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the clinical respiratory journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.789
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1752-699X
pISSN - 1752-6981
DOI - 10.1111/crj.13543
Subject(s) - herd immunity , vaccination , medicine , outbreak , immunity , disease , coronavirus , population , immunology , covid-19 , pandemic , virology , intensive care medicine , environmental health , infectious disease (medical specialty) , immune system
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), the highly contagious viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), has spread worldwide with millions of cases and more than 5 million deaths to date. SARS‐CoV‐2 has caused serious damage all over the world with many countries experiencing the third or the fourth wave of the viral disease outbreaks, mainly due to the emergence of mutant variants. Those who unvaccinated remain most vulnerable to COVID‐19 and its variants. COVID‐19 vaccination, along with prevention strategies, is a critical measure to defense against the disease. COVID‐19 vaccination can reduce the spread of virus and help protect susceptible population. Although herd immunity might not be realized solely by vaccination, COVID‐19 vaccines have been proved to be effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and even death. It is recommended that people get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. This review summarizes the recent SARS‐CoV‐2 variants that brought challenges for vaccination and herd immunity and discusses promising management strategies.