Skip to main content
    Description
    Scientific peer-reviewed publication
    Author
    Description/abstract

    A number of countries are planning the use of “immunity passports” as a way to ease restrictive measures and allow infected and recovered people to return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper brings together key scientific uncertainties regarding the use of serological tests to assure immune status and a public health ethics perspective to inform key considerations in the ethical implementation of immunity passport policies. Ill-conceived policies have the potential to cause severe unintended harms that could result in greater inequity, the stigmatization of certain sectors of society, and heightened risks and unequal treatment of individuals due to erroneous test results. Immunity passports could, however, be used to achieve collective benefits and benefits for specific populations besides facilitating economic recovery. We conclude that sector-based policies that prioritize access to testing based on societal need are likely to be fairer and logistically more feasible, while minimizing stigma and reducing incentives for fraud. Clear guidelines need to be set out for which sectors of society should be prioritized for testing, and rigorous mechanisms should be in place to validate test results and identify cases of reinfection.

    Publication Language
    English
    Free Keywords
    Policy measures
    Topics
    Health status » Morbidity/disability » Communicable diseases » Covid-19
    ISSN Number
    0022-1899, 1537-6613
    Access rights to the publication
    Closed access
    Country:
    Policy measure
    Surveillance
    Journal
    The Journal of Infectious Diseases
    Publisher
    Oxford University Press (OUP)
    Year of Publication
    2020
    Volume
    222
    Issue
    5
    Pages
    715-718
    Corresponding author
    Clarence Tam
    Contact e-mail
    clarence.tam@nus.edu.sg
    Contact info (address)

    Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Tahir Foundation Building, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117549, Singapore