The Balancing Act of Herd Immunity - Wealth vs Health

Harvard Suggest Intermittent Social Distancing Could Be More Effective

Harvard University researchers say an on-again, off-again approach to social distancing could be a more effective strategy to avoid overwhelming hospitals and to build herd immunity against the novel coronavirus — but other experts aren’t so sure.

An April study, conducted at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, championed intermittent social distancing — measures that are periodically reimposed when cases reach certain levels.

According to the researchers’ modeling, as long as social distancing occurred between 25 percent and 75 percent of the time, the world could both build immunity and keep the healthcare system from overloading.  Watch the video on this page.

Social distancing restrictions could be eased under various scenarios, according to the authors—if COVID-19 treatments become available, if hospitals can increase their intensive care bed capacity, if there’s aggressive contact tracing and quarantine, or if a vaccine is developed.

“I think social distancing interventions of some sort are going to have to continue, hopefully, lightened and in conjunction with other interventions,” said Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics and co-senior author of the study, in an April 14 article in STAT.

Here is a video explaining how the no lockdown strategy and accelerated "herd immunity" might be working in Sweden but also explains the risks.   Sweden prefers to use the term "transmission" for fear that they are perceived as giving up on fighting the disease.  Sweden's strategy would mean their death toll will be higher earlier and lower later as herd immunity is achieved.  Thus, Sweden would not likely experience a second wave of transmission in the fall and winter months.   



It also raises the question of how many people are actually following the stay at home orders? 

Here is a Twitter poll asking if Intermittent social distancing would be effective? 

According to researchers' modelling, if social distancing occurred between 25 and 75 per cent of the time, the world could keep health-care systems from overloading.

Do you think that intermittent social distancing would be effective?

Read more: https://t.co/kohGB8tayJ

— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) May 4, 2020

These 2 Flu Vaccines Are Killing People in South Korea

SINGAPORE - Health authorities have advised against the use of two influenza vaccines - SKYCellflu Quadrivalent and VaxigripTetra - after people who received them in South Korea died.

No deaths associated with influenza vaccination have been recorded here, noted the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Sunday (Oct 25), adding: "This is a precautionary measure following reported deaths after influenza vaccination in South Korea."

Information from South Korean authorities noted that seven brands of influenza vaccine had been administered to the people who died in South Korea.

Two of the seven brands are available in Singapore: SKYCellflu Quadrivalent is manufactured by SK Bioscience and distributed here by AJ Biologics; VaxigripTetra is made by Sanofi Pasteur and locally distributed by Sanofi Aventis.

The HSA is assessing the implications of the reported deaths in South Korea and the MOH has told healthcare providers and medical practitioners to temporarily stop using the two vaccines.

But the two other vaccines that have been brought into Singapore for the influenza season can still be used, they added.

ike any medicines, vaccines can cause side effects, such as soreness and redness at the injection site, fever, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and nausea.

"These side effects are generally mild and resolve on their own. In rare instances, a person may experience high fever or severe allergic reactions (such as breathing difficulty, wheezing and swelling around the eyes) and immediate medical attention should be sought," said the agencies.

They added that vaccines approved for use here have been evaluated by the HSA to ensure that they meet the required international standards of quality, safety and efficacy.

The HSA monitors vaccine safety through a monitoring system that draws on the network of local healthcare professionals and international regulatory counterparts to pick up adverse events suspected to be associated with the medications.

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