Answer

Discussion 1a: Herd immunity

Herd immunity refers to a form of immunity which arises when the vaccination of a significant number of people in a population is provided with a measure of protection for those who have not developed the immunity. According to Mallory et al., herd immunity arises when a significant number of populations is protected against a virus or bacteria through vaccination and thus making it difficult for the disease to spread because the people left susceptible to infection are a few (1). One of the vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreak in Australian in the past ten years is flu (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1). In specific, in 2017, there was an increased rate of the number of flu cases in Australia. According to the Annual Australian Laboratory, there were reported 249,882 cases of influenzas in Australia. In specific, the figures increased from a mere 7,761 in June to 33,115 in July, and 98,687 in August of the same year (Department of Health 1). For patients, flu results in increased costs of medication as well as poor health and wellbeing. For the community, flu leads to an increased use of medical resources and reduced productivity.

It is vital to continue to maintain high herd immunity for VPD when diseases are no longer a threat in Australia. One of the reasons for maintaining herd immunity is the fact that once enough people have been protected, then they help in the protection of the vulnerable members of the communities through the prevention of the disease spread (Immunization Coalition 1). Additionally, miniating herd immunity prevents a fall in the rates of immunization. Notably, when herd immunity breaks down, there will be an increase in the number of new cases (Lawrence et al. 2382) Maintaining herd immunity ensures that a high number of individuals in the society will remain protected which will make it less likely for immune-compromised individuals to come in contact with immunized ones.