Mass vaccination (critical immunisation threshold)

Description

Mathematical models can project how infectious diseases progress to show the likely outcome of an epidemic and help inform public health interventions. If the proportion of the population that is immune exceeds the herd immunity level for the disease, then the disease can no longer persist in the population. Thus, if this level can be exceeded by vaccination, the disease can be eliminated. The critical immunisation threshold is the minimum proportion of the population that must be immunised at birth (or close to birth) in order for the infection to die out in the population.