COVID-19: individual and herd immunity

Abstract

Immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus ensures protection against reinfection by this virus thanks to the combined action of neutralizing antibodies and T lymphocytes specific to viral proteins, in particular the Spike protein. It must be distinguished from the immune response that ensures healing of the infection following contamination that involves innate immunity, particularly type 1 interferons, and which is followed by adaptive cellular and humoral immunity. The importance of the effect of interferons is highlighted by the occurrence of severe forms of the disease in genetically deficient subjects or in patients with antibodies neutralizing type 1 interferon. Herd immunity is not an individual biological property. It is a mathematical property that qualifies the fact that when the proportion of subjects with individual immunity is high enough, there is little chance that an epidemic can occur. The level of that proportion—the herd immunity of the population can be computed under theoretical, often unrealistic, hypotheses, and is difficult to assess in natural conditions.

Keywords

• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• Individual immunity
• Herd immunity
• Antibodies
• T lymphocytes