How herd immunity will help us fight coronavirus

How herd immunity will help us fight COVID-19

Herd immunity occurs when a large percentage of a population is immune to an infectious disease. There are two ways to achieve it: by exposing a large percentage of the population to a virus, or by producing a vaccine.

By Jackeline Luna

and Maggie Beidelman

May 5, 2020 12:33 PM PT

Science & Medicine

Jackeline Luna

Jackeline Luna is a former senior producer for video series. Before joining the Los Angeles Times, she interned for Politico, ABC7 and the Mercury News. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a master’s in journalism in May 2018.

Maggie Beidelman

Maggie Beidelman is a former senior video director for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in 2019, Beidelman helped launch AJ+, the digital media channel of Al Jazeera Media Network, where she produced the award-winning series “Untold America.” Beidelman has her master’s in documentary film from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

How herd immunity will help us fight COVID-19

Herd immunity occurs when a large percentage of a population is immune to an infectious disease. There are two ways to achieve it: by exposing a large percentage of the population to a virus, or by producing a vaccine.

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