What is community immunity or herd immunity? How many people need to get vaccinated to develop community immunity from COVID-19?

This term describes when enough people have protection - either because they’ve already had the disease or they’ve been vaccinated - it is unlikely a virus or bacteria can spread between people in a community and cause outbreaks of disease.

Public health experts are still learning about what percentage of a community would need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. The percentage needed to reach herd immunity varies by disease.

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1. Can I get a booster shot of the COVID vaccine?
2. Why should children get the COVID-19 vaccine?
3. How soon after having COVID can I get vaccinated?
4. Why should I get vaccinated if I've already had COVID-19?
5. What do I do if I lose my vaccine card?
6. Can I stop wearing a mask and following public health protocols if I am vaccinated?
7. After getting vaccinated, do I still need to quarantine after possible exposures?
8. Can I still catch COVID after being vaccinated? Can I still spread COVID after being vaccinated?
9. After I’ve gotten vaccinated, how long will it take to get immunity?
10. Will I still be protected if I only get one dose? Why is important to get the second dose?
11. If I get symptoms shortly after I’ve been vaccinated, should I get tested?
12. What is community immunity or herd immunity? How many people need to get vaccinated to develop community immunity from COVID-19?
13. Are the vaccines effective against variants?