Covid-19: Herd immunity and the power of sacrifice

THIS year, Muslims in Malaysia and across the world sacrificed their liberties when celebrating Hari Raya Haji by keeping to practices that limit interaction, in a continuous effort to control the spread of Covid-19.

We know from the plight of friends in Melbourne and Tokyo that the threat of a Covid-19 resurgence – even larger than the first wave – remains.

But waning trust in some authorities in the rapidly developing (sometimes inconsistent) science of Covid-19 and pandemic fatigue, challenges our efforts to actively adhere to some risk-reducing behaviours.

Mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals and compulsory mask wearing in confined public spaces may reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading again in the community. But varying motivation and capability to adhere to such measures over time (and limitations such as the fact that masks cannot be safely worn by children under two years) make these measures only temporary solutions.

The virus remains highly contagious and potentially fatal, and the long-term fight in this pandemic requires a vaccine to conquer it.

Fortunately, there is progress on multiple fronts from different groups developing vaccines, and 28 candidates have entered phase III trials, which test whether they are safe and work for a larger group of people.

Several challenges remain in ensuring safety, availability and affordability for everyone who needs the vaccine – but the bigger challenge are those who are refusing vaccinations. They will likely reject future Covid-19 vaccines as well.

It is this resistance, often driven by polarised views of information, exercised in the name of freedom of choice, which we cannot afford in our quest to overcome Covid-19.

Some may question, what harm can choosing not to vaccinate themselves or their children bring to the larger community? After all, those who choose to be vaccinated will already be protected. But these arguments neglect the idea that vaccines are a public health tool, not just to protect one particular individual.

Even the best vaccines rarely offer 100% protection for those vaccinated. They may face less risk of developing severe disease if they ever become infected, but having unvaccinated people in the community raises collective risk of being infected.

There are some people who cannot be vaccinated due to medical conditions such as allergies or disorders of the immune system that increase their risk of an adverse reaction to vaccines. These people are at even higher risk than others who can be vaccinated but choose not to vaccinate themselves or their children.

If a significant proportion of the community is vaccinated against Covid-19, there is less chance for the virus to circulate, reducing the collective risk for catching the disease.

For highly contagious diseases like measles, up to 95% of susceptible people who are not immune need to be vaccinated to ensure that measles is not circulating in the community.

This is what is referred as herd immunity. Like a pack of adult elephants creating a ring surrounding the calf, the elephants sacrifice themselves because they know they have the power to protect the vulnerable in their herd.

To fully utilise the power of any vaccine against Covid-19 or other future infectious disease, those who can choose to vaccinate must realise the need to sacrifice for those who cannot.

Power is the force to fulfil purpose. And the purpose of the empowered and the powerful cannot be driven by self-interest. Because power solely for self-interest is a corrupted power, and the insidious effects of corruption are far-reaching, long standing and difficult to correct.

With great power comes great responsibility, Stan Lee said in the voice of Peter Parker's (aka Spider-Man) Uncle Ben. With that power also comes great sacrifice.

At times, that power asks us to make sacrifices, not only to protect the people we love, but also strangers around us. Regardless of their nationality, race, or religion, we must realise that strangers to us are loved ones to someone else.

This is the power that must drive our response in public health, the power that we have as each individual to contribute to a larger purpose – to protect the health of the community at large and communities of the future. The power to do the right thing, even if at times it seems contradictory to our individual interests and inclinations.

In the early days of vaccination, when issues of safety and discomfort were likely higher, our grandparents made the sacrifice to have their children be vaccinated because they knew the devastating effects of infectious disease.

The sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail has become a blessing for generations after them. Today, we also reap the blessings of sacrifice from our predecessors who vaccinated their children. We no longer worry that our children might become paralysed with polio, or be scarred from smallpox.

Today, it is our chance to exercise our power, to sacrifice for a higher purpose.