AIBU to think immunity passes would be a terrible thing?

[Makeitgoaway]

I know initially any antibody test would be to help NHS workers etc get back to work but if an antibody test became widely available, those who are immune could return to work and play while everyone else stays in. Am I understanding that correctly?

Which would mean the immune had a clear advantage in every aspect of life. And (outside of key workers) they're most likely to be the ones who didn't follow the rules properly!

People would be forging them and selling them in no time.

@definitelygc I'm not sure your comment has been thought through as well as it could have been.

People still at risk of catching, transmitting and killing vulnerable people (and/or themselves) with CV would riot in the streets because the fat old bird next door - me - was so selfish as to catch it from other people's sick children and not have the decency to die of it like I'm supposed to?

And then, as my job is likely to vanish in the next couple of months, I'd be selfishly 'cashing in' on my great fortune in not actually dying of it to go and work for the NHS (or any other employer, let's face it, I need money too) as soon as immunity can be confirmed?

@MitziK oh for goodness' sakes you're being ridiculous. I'm not talking about what I'd do (I work from home anyway and am ok financially), I'm talking about society at large. If you think immunity passports applied to the entire population would be a workable long term solution then great, let's you're right. I highly doubt it.

Let's hope you're right*

@definitelygc And 'society at large', rather than you personally was exactly how I interpreted your comments. They still don't make sense.

Mind you, seeing as I've had a bastard of a time getting jobs since I became disabled (if you declare it, no interview, if you don't, it's an unsuccessful interview as soon as they clap eyes on the stick or brace), it would amuse me somewhat if, for once in my life, I'm about to suddenly a more desirable employee than an able bodied one who hasn't caught it yet.

Why don't they make sense? Many people are already flouting the rules now and we're only a couple of weeks in. Do you really think people are going to be following lockdown rules in 3-6 months' time when they're penniless and the immune population are all back at work/down the pub? No chance.

We if you dont think it's fair OP how about you catch it then spend a few weeks terrified and gasping for breath for the privilege of immunity? Go on, have a gamble on some permanent lung damage or PVF just do you can go to Tescos.

On a non essential note, I wonder if countries will demand one before allowing entry to non nationals of those countries, ie holidaymakers etc.

Trips abroad might be a way off yet. And TBH I don't know if I'd be confident enough for a long while to go through an airport and sit cheek by jowl with others on a cramped plane. Same with pubs and other outlets unless they have the physical distance rule. But that negates the whole purpose of socialising!

It would mean that a greater proportion of the population in London would get an immunity pass (plus, I think, quite a lot of people in the north east).

@Porcupineinwaiting You make an excellent point. As I explained, I'm unlikely to do that but if I were desperate to be able to get back to my low paid bar job to earn a living, I might.

If we can find a million people warranted to be immune, they can be conscripted to work as healthcare assistants, undertakers and mortuary workers. Some of them can work as postmen, delivery drivers, and in food factories.

At this stage it is not clear how long immunity would last. The test would need to be repeated at intervals to check that the person still remains immune.

I agree OP. I can’t see how it wouldn’t cause huge issues. Forgeries, crime, jealousy, moral hazard etc etc. List goes on.

I read that one option would be to carry out mass sampling but keep results confidential, ie only accessible by authorities to allow data to be analysed by those authorities. that would show how far we have progressed towards herd immunity. Sounds good to me. Once they get a reliable test - they don’t yet.

Yes fascinated, that would make far more sense, to know what % of the population was immune, rather than which individuals, although I suspect that is not what the public will be demanding.

Which would mean the immune had a clear advantage in every aspect of life.

Apart from quite possibly their long term health. And you can't buy that back.

"Which would mean the immune had a clear advantage in every aspect of life"

As long as they don't mind being conscripted to work as mortuary attendants.

I think testing 66 million people would be a mammoth task, and probably unachievable. However, I suspect if it became available it would be used on keyworkers (starting with the NHS and gradually rolling out to the less essential keyworkers like my husband who works in insurance, but is somehow classed as a keyworker...) and then if necessary rolled further out by industry etc...

They won't do it like that, it would just encourage people to go out and get it, which is not something the NHS could cope with.
They need to know the prevalence in the population, and will decide what restrictions are needed based on that. I would imagine they will test a targeted selection across the population with the antibody test and extrapolate up - in much the same way as is done for an election exit poll. These are generally accurate within a couple of percent, which is would be good enough.
Right now, nobody knows - it could be 5%, it could 50%. We have no idea how common it is to be asymptomatic. The higher the prevalence, the fewer restrictions will be needed.

Purely selfishly- I would love such a test. If positive it would mean I could work with the current level of fear removed.

As a mortuary attendant, @Bargebill19

So you think it's OK if one section of the community is allowed to have an education, see family, earn a living whilst others aren't just because of a medical fluke?

But lots of disabled and seriously ill people do struggle with these things (maybe less so seeing family) all the time because of a medical fluke. We don't take those opportunities away from everyone else to make it 'fair'

also it would encourage lots of people to get CV in order to get one

This to me is the obvious problem.

also it would encourage lots of people to get CV in order to...

be conscripted into working as mortuary attendants.

That's where they're needed.

Might slow down some of the freeloaders willing to gamble on a 3% chance of dying.

The UK struggles to test 10,000 people per day
Work out how long it would take to get round to 67 million people

Then figure out a way to avoid forgeries making it all meaningless anyway