Nice idea, but it would likely have problems with regulators. I am not a doctor, but these are my thoughts. Yes, there are "non-pathogenic" strains. I'm pretty

Nice idea, but it would likely have problems with regulators. I am not a doctor, but these are my thoughts. Yes, there are "non-pathogenic" strains. I'm pretty sure that my mild symptoms that encouraged me to self-isolate a week earlier than the government lockdown were the result of one of those strains. However, SARS-1 had long-term consequences for those who were infected in the past [1]. I think that the risks of these sequelae are the reason why prevention is recommended instead of herd immunity. It's possible that the mild strains of COVID-19 will be so prevalent in the environment that I won't be able to avoid them completely, but pursuing eradication is possible (e.g. smallpox, rinderpest) and will probably be the focus of much public health attention in the decades to come. Edit: You're right that a live attenuated vaccine like polio can mutate back into a dangerous form, and this has been a problem for eradication efforts. Therefore vaccinated people should self-isolate for 2 weeks to find out whether it will mutate. Also, as you say, "immunity" might not last for life. Perhaps as little as a few months. Isolate for 2 weeks every 3 months, and risk the vaccine mutating to a more dangerous form? I don't think that's a practical solution. I do agree that the non-pathogenic strains should be researched heavily, as a source of clues for developing a vaccine, it just won't be as simple as infecting people on purpose with a different strain. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome#Prognosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndr...