"According to etymology, the word immune derives from the Latin immunis, which means exempt from public service, untaxed; unburdened. By extension, the term immunity means exempt from a particular infectious disease, but the term is now in danger of being equated with exemption from employment because of vaccine mandates that have been implemented or proposed in some countries. In the UK, unvaccinated health-care workers in England faced the prospect of imminent dismissal for representing a perceived danger to both themselves and to vulnerable patients, although the UK government is now consulting on whether the mandate should be scrapped. Many vaccine mandates include those who are naturally immune—which constitutes a large proportion of health-care workers in view of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the workplace. However, there are compelling arguments against such unilateral mandates that bear repeating from the standpoint of accumulated knowledge around viral respiratory tract infections and immunity."
Comments