COVID-19: What are ‘immunity passports’

Governments all over the world are brainstorming on different strategies on how to reopen cities amid the global pandemic. One suggestion that’s stirring up a lot of discussions is the issuing of ‘immunity passports’ – an indication that a person has immunity to COVID-19.

True enough that this pandemic has made a huge impact on economies globally due to total lockdowns. Although the case is different for every country, all are struggling on when and how things can go back to normal again.

And thus the idea of handing immunity passports. This will serve as a back-to-work pass or certificate given to those who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and recovered. Some experts believe that a recovered patient will have immunity against the disease but only for an amount of time.

However, according to the World Health Organization and Canada’s health officials, this strategy is still too risky and could backfire. They say more evidence is needed to prove the theory as well as more research about the virus itself since a lot is still unknown. Furthermore, health officials say antibody testing is not all the time accurate and reliable.

The main thing to consider is still the data of case counts. Officials say the reopening of provinces will have to be in a cautiously and slowly approach.