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Prove You've Been Vaccinated?
Dec. 9th, 2020 11:50 amThe first doses of tested, effective Coronavirus vaccine are rolling out to members of the public now. For example, CNN interviewed one of the first Brits to receive a dose yesterday (8 Dec 2020). This is unambiguously great news... even though the reality of the situation is far from perfect as it will take quite some time still before vaccines can be distributed to everyone even in advanced countries, let alone across the developing world.
As we begin to gain traction on the Coronavirus pandemic by way of vaccines I'm reminded of a question I've briefly contemplated a few times in the past. How soon will the conversation shift from if/when a vaccine will be available to, "Can you prove you've been vaccinated?"
Think about it. The vaccine is a key step to getting to the "After Times". You know, the time after the pandemic, when like in the Before Times, we gather inside close enough to brush elbows and talk or even sing without masks on our faces and without worrying about transmitting a dangerous disease.
But the availability of the vaccine is only Step One. It's got to be scaled up, then pretty much everyone has got to take it. Remember, it's only 90-95% effective in testing done so far, so even if you get the shot, if everyone around you does not you're still at nontrivial risk. I'm not going to embrace the After Times as being like the Before Times, boarding airplanes and going to crowded indoor businesses, until I have confidence that almost everyone around me is vaccinated just like I am. Recent public opinion surveys in the US indicate 40%+ intend not to get vaccinated. That's not okay. If I had kids, I would be extremely loathe to send them back to in-person schooling if the reality were that 40%+ of the other students and staff were refusing vaccination.
Part of the question is if businesses and agencies can force people to get vaccinated. In the US, employers generally can, except where prohibited by union contract and subject to exemptions for medical issues and religious beliefs. Presumably they could for customers, too. Schools, both public and private, have generally required proof of immunization for students for decades.
Another part of the question is what enforcement would even look like. Would there be a card or certificate people could easily show as proof of immunization? Would that take a huge new bureaucracy to provide? Apparently there already sort-of is, and it doesn't. Vaccine makers have worked with clinics to provide a documentation card to people who've gotten the first shot of the two-shot regimen. It documents the date and type of the first shot, if I understand correctly, and the date the second shot is due. This helps individuals get the correct follow-up care. And... it could also become part of a compliance policy.
As we begin to gain traction on the Coronavirus pandemic by way of vaccines I'm reminded of a question I've briefly contemplated a few times in the past. How soon will the conversation shift from if/when a vaccine will be available to, "Can you prove you've been vaccinated?"
Think about it. The vaccine is a key step to getting to the "After Times". You know, the time after the pandemic, when like in the Before Times, we gather inside close enough to brush elbows and talk or even sing without masks on our faces and without worrying about transmitting a dangerous disease.
But the availability of the vaccine is only Step One. It's got to be scaled up, then pretty much everyone has got to take it. Remember, it's only 90-95% effective in testing done so far, so even if you get the shot, if everyone around you does not you're still at nontrivial risk. I'm not going to embrace the After Times as being like the Before Times, boarding airplanes and going to crowded indoor businesses, until I have confidence that almost everyone around me is vaccinated just like I am. Recent public opinion surveys in the US indicate 40%+ intend not to get vaccinated. That's not okay. If I had kids, I would be extremely loathe to send them back to in-person schooling if the reality were that 40%+ of the other students and staff were refusing vaccination.
Part of the question is if businesses and agencies can force people to get vaccinated. In the US, employers generally can, except where prohibited by union contract and subject to exemptions for medical issues and religious beliefs. Presumably they could for customers, too. Schools, both public and private, have generally required proof of immunization for students for decades.
Another part of the question is what enforcement would even look like. Would there be a card or certificate people could easily show as proof of immunization? Would that take a huge new bureaucracy to provide? Apparently there already sort-of is, and it doesn't. Vaccine makers have worked with clinics to provide a documentation card to people who've gotten the first shot of the two-shot regimen. It documents the date and type of the first shot, if I understand correctly, and the date the second shot is due. This helps individuals get the correct follow-up care. And... it could also become part of a compliance policy.
