Japanese "Herd Immunity"

[Taro Toporific]

Texas Flu Researchers Test 'Herd Immunity' Theory
Newhouse News Service (NNS) - Oct 26
...researchers in Texas are testing whether mass vaccinations of mostly healthy children could save thousands of lives in future years. The object: to measure how well flu is controlled through "herd immunity" -- a term applied when sufficient numbers of people are immune to a virus that they provide a firebreak against its spread....
....The vaccination of most Japanese children from 1962 through 1987 prevented between 37,000 and 49,000 deaths per year, many among the elderly, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine....
Controlling flu in Japan is different than in the United States, researchers point out. Death rates from flu and associated pneumonia are typically higher in Japan. Its population lives in closer quarters, and more vulnerable older people live in homes with children.
Nonetheless, the results were striking and the impact long-lasting, public health experts said. "As a consequence of this, Japan has the highest portion of people over 65 of any nation in the world," said Glezen, the Baylor researcher. "Basically, they were saving their grandparents."
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