COVID-19 Immunity Passport
A COVID-19 immunity passport is a document attesting that its bearer is immune to a contagious disease. It proves that a person has been vaccinated, and they might be given more freedom about gathering in public places and traveling. Now that a COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out, discussion turned to whether some type of vaccination or immunity "passport" might be required.
Background
The idea was that once the vaccine was widely available, the passport would be issued to people who would have been vaccinated to let them move more freely, both locally and globally, by allowing access to indoor restaurants, movie theaters, and international travel.[1]
Is it a new thing
Some countries already require immunization certificates for diseases like polio and yellow fever to prevent global spread. And decades ago, international travelers carried "International Certificates of Vaccination" approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and sponsored by the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare Public Health Services.
"It worked well—travelers carried the record with them and used it to enter countries that required proof of immunizations," former hospital CEO, health care advisor, and biomedical ethicist Michael Hunn told Health.
Why an immunity passport and will it work?
As the world’s biggest ever vaccination programme gets underway, so-called immunity passports are back in the headlines. A document verifying the holder’s status as Covid-free could allow international borders as well as concerts and other events to reopen. So are immunity passports just the ticket, or do they remain a flight of fancy?
Medical clearance for travel is not a new thing. It was not long ago that a trip to many countries involved multiple jabs and a case full of pills, and WHO guidelines still mandate yellow fever inoculations for visitors to certain places. With countries including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States among those which have reacted to the more virulent strains of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) with additional pre-departure testing requirements, evidence of vaccination status is a simple next step to already existing procedures. But there are multiple issues to be resolved first.
The incredible efforts of the scientific community to reach a point where we now have multiple viable vaccines being administered in countries around the world is nothing short of heroic. But how will these vaccines be treated by different nations’ border security and health services? Recent data has shown the CoronoVac vaccine to have only a shade over 50% efficacy in Brazilian trials following initial reports of 78%. Will Brazilians who have taken this vaccine be welcomed into countries where CoronoVac has not been approved for use?[2]
UK NHS Trial Immunity COVID-19 Passport
The UK National Health Service (NHS) Directors of Public Health will test the COVID-19 immunity passport that was developed by Mvine and iProov. The companies aim to complete two trials by 31 March 2021, providing public health officials in the UK the confidence to deploy the passport at scale. The Mvine-iProov passport allows a person’s COVID-19 test result or vaccination status to be registered and verified without disclosing their identity. The system will not capture or store any identity data and will instead use an ‘abstract mathematical model of the user’s face’ that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to work out a set of numbers which represent them and cannot be mistaken by anyone else. This unique ID will then be linked to the reference number of their test or vaccine. The passport does not require extensive new infrastructure as it can be plugged into the existing NHS systems.[3]
