Ever since the vaccine rollout started, the US has obsessed over herd immunity, or the idea that when enough people become immune to Covid-19, whether through infection or vaccination, the risk to those without immunity becomes negligible.
Estimates for achieving this nebulous goal vary widely, but states are clearly on different trajectories, and disparities in vaccination rates are sometimes even more stark at the local level.
While the US is doing well on the whole, ultimately what matters is how many people have had Covid-19 and how many are fully vaccinated in each community.
As such, it is long past time to retire the idea of a national herd immunity and instead focus on local case levels, hospitalization, death and vaccine coverage. Just a thought.
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