Passport to freedom? Immunity passports for COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led a number of countries to introduce restrictive ‘lockdown’ policies on their citizens in order to control infection spread. Immunity passports have been proposed as a way of easing the harms of such policies, and could be used in conjunction with other strategies for infection control. These passports would permit those who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to return to some of their normal behaviours, such as travelling more freely and returning to work. The introduction of immunity passports raises a number of practical and ethical challenges. In this paper, we seek to review the challenges relating to various practical considerations, fairness issues, the risk to social cooperation and the impact on people’s civil liberties. We make tentative recommendations for the ethical introduction of immunity passports.

Two-tiered SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion screening in the Netherlands and stability of nucleocapsid, spike protein domain 1 and neutralizing antibodies

“…Since early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been suggested that serological tests could be used to issue so-called 'immunity passports' [18][19][20]. This has caused heated discussions about potential ethical, equitable and legal implications as well as public health ramifications due to potentially increased/encouraged risky behavior by 'immunity passport' holders [17,21].…”

“…The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19), which has led to millions of infections with substantial morbidity and mortality [1]. COVID-19 is characterized by a range of symptoms including cough, fever, pneumonia and a characteristic loss of smell and taste [2,3].…”

Good reasons to vaccinate: mandatory or payment for risk?

“…With some colleagues, I have given similar arguments in favour of immunity passports. [44] One attractive benefit would be the freedom to not wear a mask in public places if you carried a vaccination certificate, and not to socially distance. Currently, everyone has to wear a mask and practise social distancing.…”

COVID-19, immunoprivilege and structural inequalities

“…For example, they would be able to move around more freely, not have to abide by all social distancing guidelines, and even return to work. This, in turn, would have several beneficial social effects, especially by alleviating the economic strain of the pandemic (Brown, Savulescu, Williams and Wilkinson 2020 ). Similarly, Govind Persad and Ezekiel Emanuel argue that immunity passports may allow us to further protect vulnerable populations by providing safer care.…”