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Northwest Career College is built on the foundations of family and the bonds that bind them. Dr. Kenny and his children have dedicated themselves to the mission of educating students and helping them to succeed in their chosen profession. Once you enter the doors of Northwest, you are family, through and through. Come join the Northwest Family where you’re connected for life.
Since 1997, thousands of students have walked through the doors of Northwest and have gone on to become successful Massage Therapists, Dental Assistants, Medical Assistants, Medical Insurance Specialists and Paralegals. Won’t you join the fine group of Northwest Alumni now serving the community in a variety of professions? Explore Northwest Career College and see where your future can lead. Come tour our campus today!
At Northwest Career College, ours is a student-centered philosophy where students come first. Our open door and open heart approach to education sets us apart from all others. It’s a feeling you get when you first walk in our doors.
Every Alumni is welcome back on the campus of Northwest Career College. We love to hear your successes and share in your life’s progress. The absolute best, though, is when you return to the classroom and speak with our current students. Alumni come-backs always give students that extra bit of inspiration to help them see that their goals are achievable and real.
Northwest Career College has created a beautiful and peaceful testing space for both our students and our visitors to enjoy. We know how important and stressful test taking can be and we want to make your time here a positive one with successful outcomes! Make sure to allow yourself some extra time to arrive early, get settled, grab a drink or a snack from the front and prepare to PASS your exam! We look forward to seeing you on campus and in our testing center. Best of luck to you!
Northwest Career College takes great pride in creating beautiful campus facilities for our students, staff and faculty. We invite all of you to visit our campus in person! But, until you get here, please enjoy a virtual tour of our buildings, program labs and learning centers. We look forward to seeing you on campus!
One of the talking points that has been in the news cycle in recent months regarding the COVID-19 is the concept of ‘herd immunity’ and the possibility of its use to end the threat of
Coronavirus.
In this article, we’ll be looking at what the term herd immunity means, how it can be achieved, and why it is crucial to the outcome current virus crisis.
In its most simple terms, herd immunity means that around 70% to 90% of a population has developed the necessary antibodies to be functioning immune to a particular disease.
If around 80% of people in the US were immune to COVID-19, for example, the four out of every five people who came in contact with an infected person would not become sick, significantly reducing the spread of the disease.
Herd immunity is achieved in one of two ways. The first is through vaccination and is the most effective of the two options. Large scale vaccination programs have already been effective at eliminating previously serious diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox in the US. Outbreaks of these diseases are usually restricted to areas or communities with lower vaccine coverage and don’t spread to the broader population.
The second route to herd immunity is through a large percentage of the population catching, surviving, and developing the correct antibodies to become immune to the disease they had contracted.
This route to herd immunity has significant downsides, especially in the case of COVID-19. Firstly, contracted herd immunity only lasts for one generation and is not passed down from parent to child. For example, many of the survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic developed an immunity to the H1N1 virus. However, later generations did not have the same immunity leading to the 2009-10 outbreak of H1N1, more commonly known as the swine flu epidemic.
Secondly, the infection and death rate for COVID-19 is high enough that if around 70% of the population needed to contract the disease to develop herd immunity, then the death rate and the strain on the US medical system would be overwhelming.
Vaccination is the safest and most effective solution to developing herd immunity to COVID-19, which is why such an emphasis has been placed on creating one.
As mentioned earlier, herd immunity through vaccination is why we no longer have to worry about diseases like measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, rubella, and chickenpox. Herd immunity through vaccination is also responsible for the complete eradication of the smallpox virus.
The variola virus, also known as smallpox, was a virulent disease affecting most of the world through repeated epidemics that killed 3 out of every ten people with the disease and left those who survived with permanent scaring over large parts of their body, especially their faces.
Thanks to vaccinations developed based on the work of an English doctor named Edward Jenner, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated the Global Smallpox Eradication Program in 1959 and, through a program of intensive vaccination, was able to completely eradicate the disease by May 8, 1980.
While scientists across the globe are working hard on a vaccine for COVID-19, the most sensible thing to do is concentrate on reducing the number of possible infections and reducing the strain on the healthcare system.
According to the CDC, the best way to prevent yourself from becoming infected with COVID-19, and to ensure you don’t infect others, is by taking the following precautions:
Here at Northwest Career College, we have a student-focused attitude that prioritizes giving our graduates the training and skillset they’ll need to excel as medical assistants. Our established and seasoned instructors work with you, teaching you every aspect of Medical Assisting. We help you build your skills, abilities, and confidence, and we are proud of our 88% national exam pass rate.
If you’d like to learn more about what our medical assistant course can offer you, call one of our enrollment specialists at (702) 403-1592 today. We provide flexible learning, with online and on-campus morning, afternoon, and night classes to accommodate your Las Vegas work and family schedule. Once you’ve graduated, our dedicated and experienced Career Services team will work with you to help you find the best employment opportunities in Las Vegas. Call us now on (702) 403-1592 to start your journey!
Written by:
Amanda Beardsley, C.M.A.
Medical Assisting Program Chair
