A puzzling feature of so many proposed exit strategies from the Covid-19 pandemic is the enthusiasm for the use of electronic or paper documents to demonstrate the immunity status of their holder. This might come from prior infection (immunity certificate) or from vaccination (vaccine passport)….
…In the context of an adult movie, information about the other person’s HIV status, and the consequent risk of transmission, is relevant. There is no vaccine for HIV, so the only way for a performer to protect themselves is to know the immune status of the other performers with whom they are working. If there were an effective vaccine, particularly if it offered sterilising immunity, this information would be irrelevant and disclosure would be unnecessary…
…In the context of Covid-19, however, the important thing to know is your own level of immunity because the vaccines are protecting you against virtually all the risks of serious illness or death..
…Sociologists are rightly sceptical about the way in which ‘reassurance’ can actually end up promoting fear and anxiety that are not proportionate to the perils involved…
…Who is going to make money out of vaccine passports or immunity certificates? This certainly seems to be a stronger driver than public benefit, once we have understood the nature of the infection risk and the relevance of the information that is being communicated.
A Social Science Space blog