The Dispenser

The idea for the Dispenser was born out of my disbelief at a prominent pre-vaccine suggestion on how to overcome the challenge of COVID-19, namely the idea of herd immunity. Seemingly accepting the no doubt catastrophic death toll that would have resulted from pursuing such a strategy, proponents of the herd immunity theory argued that the best way forward was to infect a large portion of the population as quickly as possible. What remained of the "herd" would then be immune and life could return to normal, with minimal damage to the economy. What I propose in this piece is a satirical suggestion on how herd immunity could be accelerated. All parts of the dispenser, the claustrophobic interior effectively blinding and binding the inhabitant, lack of clear humans features and the patronising gesture with which the user requests a gob of corona-ridden spit from the enclosed patient are designed to highlight the inhumanity and complete disregard for human life and dignity that a herd immunity strategy entails.