Final answer:
Sterilizing immunity provides permanent protection against an infectious pathogen after exposure or vaccination. Herd immunity is a form of group immunity that protects non-immune individuals within a population when a high proportion of people are immune, often through vaccination. The correct definitions are temporary protection and group immunity (Option B).
Step-by-step explanation:
The terms sterilizing immunity and herd immunity relate to different aspects of how immunity can be established within an individual or a population. Sterilizing immunity refers to the complete and permanent protection against an infectious disease after having been exposed to the pathogen or through vaccination. This type of immunity typically results in the individual's immune system preventing the pathogen from causing infection at any future time.
Herd immunity, on the other hand, occurs at a population level when a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to a disease (often through vaccination), thereby providing protection to those who are not immune. This phenomenon reduces the overall likelihood of disease spread, thereby protecting individuals who are susceptible, such as those who are unvaccinated or cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons.
The correct answer to the provided definitions would be option B) Temporary protection, Group immunity. This choice reflects the concept of herd immunity as a form of group immunity that indirectly protects susceptible individuals due to the immune status of those around them, and it acknowledges that individual immunity can be temporary, such as in the case of passive immunity.