Video Badger Talks video: Is herd immunity attainable?

For months, many of us have talked about herd immunity as the destination, and vaccines as the vehicle we need to get us there.

But what if it’s a destination we actually never reach?

“It is difficult to predict how many (people) need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity in a population,” says Ajay Sethi, associate professor of population health sciences at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and director of the Master of Public Health program.

But, he adds: “We are headed in the right direction as more people choose to be vaccinated. Ultimately, we want a high vaccination rate among people at any and every type of gathering or group activity that people do normally.”

So, make your vaccine appointment if you haven’t yet, learn more about herd immunity, and find out more about how we can start to resume life that looks a little bit more like it did before.

And, says Sethi: “Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated should consider getting the shot so that they don’t become unnecessarily sick, or worse, and so they protect those around them who are not vaccinated yet or can’t be vaccinated at this time.”

Sethi makes his comments in a new episode of Badger Talks, an interview series produced by UW–Madison University Communications.