Immunity passport explained

An immunity passport,[1] immunity certificate,[2] health pass or release certificate[3] (among other names used by various local authorities) is a document, whether in paper or digital format, attesting that its bearer has a degree of immunity to a contagious disease.[4] Public certification is an action that governments can take to mitigate an epidemic.[5]

When it takes into account natural immunity or very recent negative test results, an immunity passport cannot be reduced to a vaccination record or vaccination certificate that proves someone has received certain vaccines verified by the medical records of the clinic where the vaccines were given.,[6] such as the Carte Jaune ("yellow card") issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), which works as an official vaccination record.

The concept of immunity passports received much attention during the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential way to contain the pandemic and permit faster economic recovery.[7] Reliable serological testing for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus is done to certify people as relatively immune to COVID-19 and issue immunity documentation.[8]

History

Quarantine has been used since ancient times as a method of limiting the spread of infectious disease. Consequently, there has also been a need for documents attesting that a person has completed quarantine or is otherwise known not to be infectious. One of the oldest known immunity passports, issued in 1578 in Venice, was found by Jacek Partyka,[9] and since the 1600s, various Italian states issued fedi di sanità to exempt their bearers from quarantine.[10]

The International Certificate of Vaccination (Carte Jaune) is a certificate of vaccination and prophylaxis, not immunity. The document has remained largely unchanged since it was adopted by the International Sanitary Convention of 1944.[11] The certificate is most commonly associated with Yellow Fever, but it is also used to track vaccination against other illnesses.

Modern definition

An immunity certificate is a legal document issued by a testing authority following a serology test demonstrating that the bearer has antibodies making them relatively immune to a disease.

These antibodies can either be produced naturally by recovering from the disease, or triggered through vaccination or another medical procedure.

Reliable immunity certificates can be used to exempt holders from quarantine and social distancing restrictions, permitting them to travel and work in most areas, including high-risk occupations such as medical care.

In the COVID-19 context, it has been argued that such certificates are of practical use to society only if all of the following conditions can be satisfied:[12] [13] [14] [15]

However, some long-standing vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization, such as Meningococcal vaccine, are less than 100% effective and their protection is not everlasting.[16]

COVID-19

See main article: Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines became more publicly accessible, some governments began to authorize health credentials either as a document or in a digital form. These "vaccine passports" are used to control public access to indoor venues (like bars, restaurants, spas, and casinos) and very large gatherings (like concerts, festivals, and sporting events) and not just to facilitate travel. Depending upon the requirements of the issuing authority, an applicant would need to provide either proof of vaccination(s), a negative COVID-19 test, proof of a recovery from the virus, or some combination of these.[17] Their usage and implementation has been controversial and has raised various scientific, medical, ethical, legal, discrimination, privacy, civil rights, and human rights concerns.[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 19 June 2020 . Edmond C . COVID-19: What are immunity passports and how would they work? . World Economic Forum.
  2. Web site: Is this how to get out of lockdown? . Smith-Spark L . 3 April 2020 . Chicago Sun-Times.
  3. Web site: Explained: Are immunity passports, release certificates the way to go?. indianexpress.com . May 10, 2020.
  4. Web site: "Immunity passports" in the context of COVID-19. April 24, 2020. World Health Organization. May 1, 2020.
  5. Book: Manjikian M . Threat Talk: The Comparative Politics of Internet Addiction. 24 February 2016. Routledge. 978-1-317-01027-2. 131.
  6. Web site: Locating and Tracking Adult Vaccine Records . March 17, 2020. www.cdc.gov.
  7. News: Chotani RA, Ashraf SS, Mize C, Clark T . April 30, 2020. 'Immunity passport' key to containing spread of coronavirus. UPI. May 1, 2020.
  8. Voo TC, Reis AA, Thomé B, Ho CW, Tam CC, Kelly-Cirino C, Emanuel E, Beca JP, Littler K, Smith MJ, Parker M, Kass N, Gobat N, Lei R, Upshur R, Hurst S, Munsaka S . 6 . Immunity certification for COVID-19: ethical considerations . Bulletin of the World Health Organization . 99 . 2 . 155–161 . February 2021 . 33551509 . 7856365 . 10.2471/blt.20.280701 .
  9. Web site: Stare druki - Blog Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej - Uniwersytet Jagielloński . 2023-03-04 . blog.bj.uj.edu.pl.
  10. Web site: Fedi' di Sanita Archivi. 30 October 2023 .
  11. Book: International Sanitary Convention of 1944, Modifying Convention of June 21, 1926: Message from the President of the United States Transmitting a Certified Copy of the International Sanitary Convention of 1944, Modifying the International Sanitary Convention of June 21, 1926, which was Signed for the United States of America at Washington on January 5, 1945. 1945. U.S. Government Printing Office. en.
  12. Altmann DM, Douek DC, Boyton RJ . What policy makers need to know about COVID-19 protective immunity . Lancet . 395 . 10236 . 1527–1529 . May 2020 . 32353328 . 7185915 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30985-5 .
  13. Cyranoski D . Profile of a killer: the complex biology powering the coronavirus pandemic . Nature . 581 . 7806 . 22–26 . May 2020 . 32367025 . 10.1038/d41586-020-01315-7 . 2020Natur.581...22C . 256823069 .
  14. Hall MA, Studdert DM . Privileges and Immunity Certification During the COVID-19 Pandemic . JAMA . 323 . 22 . 2243–2244 . June 2020 . 32374358 . 10.1001/jama.2020.7712 . 218520529 . free .
  15. Hall MA, Studdert DM . "Vaccine Passport" Certification - Policy and Ethical Considerations . The New England Journal of Medicine . March 2021 . 385 . 11 . e32 . 33789006 . 10.1056/NEJMp2104289 . free .
  16. ((World Health Organization)) . November 2011 . Meningococcal vaccines : WHO position paper, November 2011 . Wkly. Epidemiol. Rec. . 86 . 47 . 521–540 . 22128384 . 10665/241846.
  17. Web site: FAQ: What Is A Vaccine 'Passport,' And What Are These Credentials Used For?. 2021-10-09. Nevada Public Radio. en. 9 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211009233609/https://knpr.org/npr/2021-04/faq-what-vaccine-passport-and-what-are-these-credentials-used. dead.
  18. Web site: What to know about COVID-19 vaccine 'passports' and why they're controversial . .