Simulation: Here’s how herd immunity works

When you click “Run Simulation” [below], you are witnessing how a disease can spread through a population and how increased levels of vaccination can stop it in its tracks.

We’ve chosen to simulate a fake disease since there are too many unknowns to simulate the course of COVID-19. There are common features in how any infection spreads. When enough people are immune — through vaccination or natural immunity — a population achieves herd immunity. The disease stops spreading efficiently and starts to fade away.

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One thing that’s evident from this simulation (and real life) is that the faster the population is protected by vaccination the better.

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