Editor,

While I typically enjoy the snarky humor of editorial cartoons, the cartoon in Oct. 17 Whidbey News-Times deriding those who believe in herd immunity encourages a lack of understanding of the concept.

Herd immunity is an important concept in immunization; immunize a statistically significant portion of the population, and those who are unable to be immunized are unlikely to catch the illness against which the population is being immunized.

I understand the author of the cartoon was poking fun at those who use ‘herd immunity’ to mean that if enough people catch COVID-19 and are then immune to the virus, the rest of the herd will be safe, but the author plays into the misinformation inherent in that stance.

Robert Steele

Oak Harbor