Can herd immunity be relied on as a strategy to combat COVID-19?

Herd immunity offers protection to a population when adequate numbers of people are immune to an infectious disease to prevent its spread. Those who recover from COVID-19 and those who receive a vaccine (as and when there is one) are expected to develop some immunity, at least for some period of time. With Severe acute Respiratory Syndrome- coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2), how long the immunity will last is not yet known as currently there is no vaccine. Achieving herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection may be the biggest leap toward returning to a near-normal pre-COVID-19 life, as social distancing guidelines and lockdowns may carry on while the virus persists and people continue to get infected and die. This article is an attempt to throw some light on the concept of herd immunity in context to COVID-19 and the implications thereof.