What Is Herd Immunity? 💉
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Description
⏰ Why has a movement against Daylight Saving developed in recent years? 💉 We know getting the COVID vaccine helps build immunity to the virus, but how can herd immunity help prevent COVID infections? Jacob and Olivia from the Curious Kid Podcast explain COVID herd immunity. 🐀 In today's Creature Feature, we learn how naked mole rats talk to each other using a unique dialect. 🍅 Plus! The Trivia Question of the Day!
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💉 Still have questions about herd immunity? Head over to the CDC website for more info
✍️ Find a copy of the transcript for today's episode here
Transcript
Various voices 0:00
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:07
From the healthy communities to mole rat communication. In the next 10 minutes, we'll get the lowdown on what's up in the world. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and this is The Ten News. Okay, does anyone else feel like bedtime came a little early on Sunday? I know I did. That's because daylight saving time just ended. Finally! Back in November when it started correspondent on your shows, explains why we move our clocks forwards and backwards in our every year. You should give that episode a listen if you haven't already, and catch up on the history of the custom while it's still around. Because it may not be forever.
A Kid 0:55
What?
Bethany Van Delft 0:56
In fact, this was supposed to be the last year that all 27 countries in the European Union were going to participate in the tradition, a whole movement against daylight saving has developed over the years. This includes a rare group of Republican and Democratic senators working together on the sunshine Protection Act of 2021, which aims to end the practice in the US. Studies have linked the disruptive effects of the change to higher rates of heart attacks, car crashes, and workplace injuries.
A Kid 1:32
That is bad.
Bethany Van Delft 1:33
But, shocker, the Coronavirus got in the way of the European Union's plans to break free from daylight saving time, the country's leaders decided they had a little bit more important things to worry about than making sure everyone was on the same page about what time it is. Meanwhile, this is all no big deal to Iceland who stopped taking part in daylight saving in 1968. In the fight against the Coronavirus. There's a lot more to consider than just the vaccine. That's why we asked Jacob and Olivia Rosencwaig from the Curious Kid Podcast to help us explain something called herd immunity.
Jacob Rosencwaig 2:17
For more than a year now the Coronavirus has changed the way we do so many things. Lots of people have questions about the Coronavirus, but there is probably one question that every single person wants the answer to.
Olivia Rosencwaig 2:30
People want to know when we will be able to get back to normal.
Jacob Rosencwaig 2:34
When will we be able to hug our friends and family? To go to school or work without a mask and to go to crowded sporting events and concerts without fear of getting the virus.
Olivia Rosencwaig 2:44
We will be able to do all these things and more when we reach herd immunity.
What does that mean?
Jacob Rosencwaig 2:51
The Coronavirus is a virus and viruses love jumping from one person to another and infecting as many people as possible. The reason the virus spread so quickly last year is that the average person that got infected shared their virus with two or three other people and those people would share it with another two or three people and so on.
Olivia Rosencwaig 3:13
But the spread of the coronavirus has slowed in the last few months because there were lots of people protected with immunity.
Jacob Rosencwaig 3:22
There are two big ways to get protected with immunity. One way is that you actually get the Coronavirus. If you get the Coronavirus, it makes it far less likely that you can get infected again, at least in the short term. Getting infected is not the preferred way to get immunity because some people with the virus get very very sick. The better way to protect yourself from the virus is to get the Coronavirus vaccine.
Olivia Rosencwaig 3:46
When enough people get immunity, it will make it harder for the virus to spread. And that will allow us to get back to normal.
Excellent.
Jacob Rosencwaig 3:55
So picture this picture yourself standing in the middle of a basketball court with a basketball in your hands. Imagine that there are 100 other people standing around you on the basketball court.
Olivia Rosencwaig 4:06
That wouldn't be a great idea because we wouldn't be able to social distance.
Jacob Rosencwaig 4:12
That's true. But we are just using our imagination. So no worries. Now say that 30 of those 100 people on the court are also holding a basketball. If I give you 10 seconds to find someone without a basketball to pass your ball to, do you think you could do it?
Olivia Rosencwaig 4:27
That would be really easy because there are 70 people I can pass my ball to.
Jacob Rosencwaig 4:32
Now what if 60 of those 100 people are holding the basketball? You have 10 seconds to find someone without a ball to pass your ball to Do you still think you could do it?
Olivia Rosencwaig 4:41
It would be a bit harder, but I think I can still do it because 40 people are still empty handed.
Jacob Rosencwaig 4:48
Now, what if 90 of those 100 people are holding a basketball? Can you still find someone without a ball in 10 seconds to pass your ball to?
Olivia Rosencwaig 4:57
That would be really hard. There's a good chance I will Want to be able to find somebody.
Jacob Rosencwaig 5:02
And that's exactly how herd immunity works. As more and more people get immunity from previous infection or from vaccination, the virus has a harder time spreading, because there are more and more people out there that are immune. We hope everyone out there stay safe and healthy and gets their vaccine when they are able. Because protecting yourself also protects your family, protects your community, and protects people near and far, helping us get back to normal as quickly as possible.
Bethany Van Delft 5:33
Up next, our favorite nature nerd, Laine Farber, talks to us about how some animals talk to each other in today's animal news.
Laine Farber 5:48
Howdy. Hi, y'all. What's up! These are just a few of our favorite ways to say hello, in the United States, these greetings not your style. Well, maybe you're more of a purist, how about Hi there, or good morning, or even the fancy schmancy pleasure to make your acquaintance. Whatever your preferred method might be, there are lots of ways to greet friends and where you live might play a key factor in what you choose. The US is a big country filled with lots of different cultures. And these different cultures have different foods, customs and ways of talking. A difference in language particular to a specific region or social group is called a dialect. It's well known that countries all around the world have different dialects within their borders. But did you know that certain animals have dialects?
A Kid 6:42
No way?
Laine Farber 6:46
That's right. Over the last few decades, scientists have discovered that species of whales, bats, and birds have regional dialects and two brand new studies just added one more strange critter to this list of unique creatures. Everyone's favorite buck-toothed, wrinkly little jelly bean, the naked mole rat. Using a computer algorithm, scientists were able to map out the squeak, squeals, grunts and chirps of different mole rat colonies. And guess what? The computers detected that each colony had a distinct chirp with a different pattern and pitch. Some colonies said howdy while others squeaked out. Pleased to meet you. Now sound is an important cue for mole rats. These little sand puppies live underground and have teeny tiny eyes which are basically useless. They rely on their sense of smell and ability to feel sound waves. Yep, you heard that correctly. These strange little creatures lack external ears, so they have to feel sound vibrations. But don't worry, they're really good at it. Which is important because scientists believe that this skill helps them determine friend from foe. Naked mole rats are some of the most socially developed mammals in the animal kingdom. They live in tight knit colonies with members of their extended family. But be careful, if you're not part of their colony, you are not welcome. Naked mole rats are incredibly territorial. They're even known to invade and go to war with neighboring colonies. Pretty intense for an animal that looks like an uncooked sausage. Well, luckily for you and me, humans tend to be a little more friendly than naked mole rats. Even if some of us say bye, y'all. And some of us say see you later.
Bethany Van Delft 8:44
And now for your...
Sound Bit 8:46
What? What? What's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 8:49
Trivia on The Ten. What popular condiment used to be sold as medicine? Was it A) ketchup, B) mustard or C) barbecue sauce?
Did you guess it? The answer is A. In 1834, a doctor in Ohio named John Cook Bennett made a big change to the common ketchup recipe. He used tomatoes. Tomato ketchup had already been popular in Asia for decades. But in the US it was mostly made from fish or mushrooms.
A Kid 9:34
Disgusting.
Bethany Van Delft 9:36
Dr. Bennett new tomatoes had a lot of vitamins in them and believed that his new recipe could help with indigestion. At one point he even started selling ketchup pills. How do you get a french fry in that? They became so popular that copycats started selling their own ketchup pills that they claimed could cure stuff like broken bones.
A Kid 10:01
Seriously!
Bethany Van Delft 10:02
Obviously, we now know that ketchup doesn't really heal anything. But hey, it's still delicious with a side of fries. Time is up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups, Want even more great content from The Ten News? Sign up for The Ten News newsletter, aka The Ten News letter. It's a free bi weekly email with even more stories to enjoy together, and we made it easy for you. The link to join is in the show notes. And on our website, TheTenNews.com. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co production of Small But Mighty Media and next chapter podcast and is distributed by iHeart Radio. Our editorial director is Tracy crooks, editing and sound design by Pete Musto, who also co wrote today's episode with Ben Austin's de Campo, our creative producer is Jenner Pasqua. Stephen Tompkins is our head of audience development and our production assistant is Sarah Olender. Laine Farber and Jacob Rosencwaig contributed to today's episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle, and The Ten News is executive produced by Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. Do you want to be part of this show? Because we want you to! Have a grown up help you record a question or a joke or a fun fact you want to share and email it to us at hello@thetennews.com and show your love for The Ten News by going to your favorite podcast app and submitting a rating and a review. It's so helps others find the show so they can join the fun with us. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Did that mole rat just eat my ketchup pills? Bad mole rat.
