The Immunity Card – The - The Journal

Photographs courtesy of cancerinyoungadults.org

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As we reach more advanced stages of the pandemic, increasing numbers of people are gaining immunity to COVID-19. Although people are not sure if others are completely immune, these individuals definitely have antibodies to combat the virus in case they get it again. In fact, one new method of treating the virus uses plasma transfusions from those who have already been cured of the virus. It has become easier to test if people have already had the virus through antibody testing, which allows us to see who has had the virus and who is probably safe from getting it again. 

But recently, people have begun to suggest that immunity cards should be given out for those who have already had the virus and recovered so they can be allowed to go back to work. On paper, this might seem okay at first but if such cards do become prevalent, it could mean possible destruction of any precautions put forth to protect people from the virus. How so? Simply, people would want to intentionally get sick in order to get these cards so they could go back to work. These people might be stupid or desperate, ranging from those absolutely needing to work in order to survive the next month to those that hate sitting at home doing nothing and want to just go outside and have fun. This situation would hamper hospitals, which could get an influx of patients who intentionally got sick in order to get these prized cards. 

Not only would people try to get an immunization card as quickly as possible but this could cause discrimination within the work force or in everyday life. Don’t have an immunization card? You cannot be served. You cannot be hired. You are not allowed to come here. While not a direct label of the unhealthy or sick, it is definitely something that could be turned around to harm the general population rather than help it. Worse, having antibodies and getting over the sickness does not ensure that you will not carry and spread it to others. It does not mean you will not get sick again but rather your body is prepared in case you do get it again. 

Although immunization cards might seem good in theory, they are something that should not be implemented in the future. As always, we should be careful when returning to the workplace and understand that we are not invincible to the virus, even if we have antibodies against it. 

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