Herd Immunity: Is it in our reach?
With Vaccine rollout greatly expanded, could Buffalo High School be headed back to normal?
On Sunday, March 28, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced vaccine eligibility would be expanding drastically. Now, starting March 30, the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to every Minnesotan over the age of 16.
Vaccine rollout offers a potential answer to a question many of the students at Buffalo High School have been asking: “When will things go back to normal?”.
The answer is most likely not during this school year. However, with open vaccine rollout is it possible for Buffalo High School to achieve herd immunity? According to Mayo clinic, herd immunity against COVID-19 is a 70% recovered or vaccinated rate. Excluding the Class of 2024, who are younger than eligible age, would the rest of the students achieve vaccinated immunity?
According to a poll done by the Hoofprint on Instagram, 63% of students plan on getting vaccinated, and 37% do not.
Using these results, it’s safe to assume that herd immunity could be further off. A sizeable portion of our school’s population is already ineligible for the vaccine, and the remaining portion is in favor of getting a vaccine, but the numbers aren’t high enough to create that bubble of protection the student body needs to achieve normality again.
