The People Who Risked Death for Immunity
When yellow fever swept through 19th-century New Orleans, immunity became so valuable, people were willing to go to extreme lengths for protection.
Brian A. Anderson
278d ago
This is a dicey topic (see also: immunity passports) and @sarahzhang handles it not just with care but with the kind of historical framework that helps snap our present into focus.
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"When yellow fever swept through New Orleans two centuries before our current pandemic, it made immunity a form of privilege—one so valuable, it was worth risking death to obtain," writes @sarahzhang
How far will people go to claim immunity? @sarahzhang reports - w comments from our Jeffrey Kahn (@KahnEthx)
"When yellow fever swept through New Orleans two centuries before our current pandemic, it made immunity a form of privilege—one so valuable, it was worth risking death to obtain."
New Orleans 1847. People welcomed yellow fever and more importantly, the lifelong immunity they would have if survived. If the government allows the immune to work that could also create a set of perverse incentives to deliberately get infected w/ #COVID19
Fascinating from @sarahzhang in @TheAtlantic:
"When yellow fever swept through New Orleans two centuries before our current pandemic, it made immunity a form of privilege—one so valuable, it was worth risking death to obtain"
