If you were being pressed for an answer on a television quiz show — one of those where possible responses are already displayed on a large electronic board — you could most likely guess that the opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice states that a wealthy single man must want a wife.
I’ve paraphrased that in the interests of my own laziness, but surely it is no longer a truth universally acknowledged. Nowadays, a rich bachelor is more liable to be a young footballer who wants to play the field before producing dribbling children. But even so, he will almost certainly end up with three ex-wives and a fourth prenup in progress. Is that what is meant by herd immunity?
Good luck with the other questions, by the way. Assuming you know that Neil Armstrong was allegedly the first man on the moon (apart from the Man in the Moon whose face is clearly visible on its surface) you could be on your way to winning a top-of-the-range cafetiere.
What exactly is herd immunity? Some sort of general amnesty for being like everyone else? Herd immunity sounds like something offered to a cattle rustler, a plea bargain to a lesser charge of stealing three small sheep rather than a whole herdful of heifers. Is herdful even a word? I must stop watching so many old movies. Clint: “Do you feel lucky, punk, without a booster jab? Do ya believe in nerd immunity? Well, do ya, punk?”
Sorry, too many Magnum ice creams. But my point is, the idea of herd immunity is bandied about without too much explanation these days, as if we all know all about it. Is it, for example, the same as ‘social immunity,’ or ‘community immunity,’ additional levels of protection arising in social groups, which sounds much more like my sort of thing — ‘Carousers Can’t Catch Covid!’ or ‘Nightclubbers Say No to Nausea!’ (Bit optimistic, that one.)
And what about the timely reminder from Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers that “Islands in the stream, that’s what we are, and we rely on each other.” But how are we going to get our herds together if we all live on different islands? I feel particularly vulnerable, since I can’t swim, although my long jump isn’t bad, if the islands aren’t too far apart.
Kenny and Dolly are right, of course, there has never been a time in our lives when we have to rely on each other so much, islands in the stream or not. Vaccination is our watchword. Our passport to future survival, and not just of the fittest. The rest of the herd can mosey along too, provided they remember to bring their immunity with them. What’s that old saying? Two herds are better than one.
