Aside from the vaccines and bountiful treatments that now exist, as an ethical matter I believe that there should be an option to be intentionally infected with COVID-19 if a consenting adult so wishes. I have no idea what form that would take: spending an afternoon in close contact with a COVID-positive individual? But if it is finally admitted that natural infection is safer and more long-lasting than the vaccine, then we will have missed an opportunity to speed us to herd immunity faster. I’m aware that this option carries with it a stigma: we’re not supposed to want to be infected! But how else will we reach the end, other than widespread infection? Rather than avoid infection, if the goal is to drop cases down as close to zero as possible, and allow the normal respiratory viruses to outcompete the remaining COVID cases, the non-vulnerable among us should welcome natural infection.
