Herd immunity and sustainable development goals: role of nurses in strengthening primary health care

Abstract

Herd immunity has proven as a highly valuable public health concept for dealing with reinfection. It is the immunity developed in a population to an infectious disease through vaccination or previous infection which is contributed by the virulence of the organism, susceptibility of an individual to infection, extent of immunity developed towards the pathogen, occurrence of clinical and subclinical infection in the herd and herd structure. Herd immunity assessment is imperative for continuously monitoring the risk of epidemics. The minimum proportion of the population that needs to be immune to herd effect is called herd immunity threshold which can be achieved through adequate immunization coverage. Immunization contributes to 14 out of its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and is important in reaching SDGs. Nurses play a vital role in strengthening primary health care through vaccination campaigns, addressing vaccine hesitancy, community outreach programs, monitoring and surveillance of diseases, advocacy, and policy development. Nurse practitioners and nurse-led vaccination programs help in reaching underserved communities or groups with vaccine hesitancy and lead to an upsurge in vaccination rates, patient satisfaction, and attainment of community immunity. Thus, vaccination is a powerful, cost-effective public health tool to achieve the eradication of diseases through proper coverage and development of population immunity.