Premier
in the light of recent comments made by the Premier, and the governing DA, that suggest that the Western Cape is now embracing a “herd immunity” approach to the virus, whether the Western Cape provincial government is adopting a “herd immunity” policy towards this virus; if so, what are the relevant details;
The Western Cape Government has neither adopted nor intends adopting a herd immunity policy in its fight against the COVID-19 virus. Herd immunity occurs when the proportion of the population that is immune to an infection (either through previous exposure or vaccination) is high enough that the chance of an infectious person coming into contact with a non-immune person is so low that ongoing transmission of the disease in the community will not occur. It is the indirect protection from infection conferred to people at risk when a sufficiently large proportion of immune individuals exist in a population. Most vaccination programs for vaccine-preventable diseases aim to establish herd immunity so that those who cannot be vaccinated, including the very young and immunocompromised, are still protected against disease. While herd immunity to COVID-19, through natural infection, is theoretically possible there is no clear, ethical path to reach this goal, as the societal consequences of achieving it would be devastating.
As yet, there is no evidence of a country or region that has demonstrated herd immunity for COVID-19. The World Health Organization does not support the active pursuit of herd immunity in the absence of a vaccine.
