Instrucciones en Español

Materials 

28 dominoes
Double-sided tape
Herd Immunity Model sheet (PDF)
Scissors

Instructions 

1. Write “sick” on one domino (or draw a sad face). This domino represents a person who is sick.
2. Stand a domino in each of the rectangles on the Herd Immunity Model sheet. Place the “sick” domino in the red rectangle.
3. Knock over the “sick” domino so that it falls into the other dominos. This shows us how a virus can spread when there is no vaccine.
4. Count how many dominos fall over. That’s how many people might get sick. 
5. Write “vaccinated” (or draw a smiley face) on another domino. Cut a small piece of double-sided tape. Apply it to the bottom of the vaccinated domino and stick it to the green rectangle with a 1.
6. Stand the other dominos and knock over the “sick” domino again. Count how many people the “vaccinated” person protected.
7. Write “vaccinated” on two more dominos and tape them on green rectangles 2 and 3. 
8. Stand the other dominos and knock over the “sick” domino again. Count how many people are protected this time. 

What's Happening?

Viruses, like COVID-19, are spread when people who are sick share germs with people who are healthy. We spread germs by sneezing, coughing, or even just talking around others. Vaccines teach our body how to protect us from germs in the future. So if you are vaccinated, you are less likely to get sick. If most of us get vaccinated, then we will help protect others and stop the virus from spreading. This is called herd immunity. Your model shows how vaccinated people protect others.