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How ‘hybrid immunity’ differs from ‘herd immunity’
The Associated Press just updated its rules for writing about Covid-19 — and added a term few people know
Covid-19 is racing through my town again, and everyone I know who has it had been both vaccinated and boosted. As I’ve pored over news reports, trying to fathom what’s coming next, I came across the latest Associated Press guidelines on how to write about the pandemic. The new rules used unfamiliar term: “hybrid immunity.”
Had I missed a phrase that’s swept the country? Apparently not. Few people have used “hybrid immunity” on Twitter, none in the past five days. But that may be changing. Here’s what the AP says about the term:
“Hybrid immunity
“COVID-19 survivors who get vaccinated develop extra-strong protection, what’s called hybrid immunity. First, the vaccination acts like a booster and revs virus-fighting antibodies to high levels. Even more important, the combination also strengthens another defensive layer of the immune system, the so-called memory B cells, helping them to create new antibodies that are more likely to withstand future variants.”
The Associated Press also has updated its guidelines on “herd immunity”:
