"You Are Not Immune from This Virus": Australian News Reporting During the Early Months of COVID-19

Immunity narratives have circulated in popular culture and news media since the late 19th century. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic instigated a fervent interest in immunity as societies came to terms with the deadly novel coronavirus. In this article, immunity narratives in reports published in the Sydney Morning Herald during the earliest phase of the pandemic are examined for how they expressed biopolitical logics concerning individual responsibility for a strong immune system and the regulation of human populations. In these news reports, there was a blurring of biological, political, and sociolegal meanings. Certain groups were singled out as vulnerable to COVID and therefore requiring protection, including the maintenance of preventive activities by all members of the public. Others-notably elite sports players-were criticized for initially being exempted from the public health restrictions to which most of the public were expected to comply. Overall, the dominant immunitary narrative was that everyone should take action to protect themselves or those people deemed at high risk. Australia could only be immune from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic if all citizens accepted that "You are not immune from this virus."