User:Rheazhii/Immunity passport

Draft for Immunity passport
A reliable serological testing for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus is done to certify people as immune to COVID-19 and issue an immunity documentation. Despite the benefits of vaccination and to solve economic and social problems due to the pandemic, issuing COVID-19 immunity certificates point out issues in science, ethics, and laws.

COVID-19 Natural Immunity
People acquire natural immunity from SARS-CoV-2 virus when they are exposed to a live virus and develop a primary immune response which produce antibodies that can recognize specific COVID-19 variants. As of May 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 90% of individuals establish recognizable antibodies in a period of four weeks of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. For most people, these detectable antibodies roughly stays at least 6-8 months which provide protective measures against reinfection. Individuals who develop antibodies against the virus do not guarantee a lasting immunity due to recurrent mutations of SARS-CoV-2 virus that may not be recognized by the previously developed antibodies. Current knowledge about the developing immune response from natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus do not specify strong and lasting duration of protection and immunity. The uncertainty of the science behind COVID-19 immunity and the dependency on unknown conditions raises issues on adopting COVID-19 immunity certificates.

Arguments and controversy
In February 2021, the position of World Health Organization (WHO) on requiring proofs of COVID-19 vaccination for international travel purposes remains against on using this as a condition for departure or entry.

Reliability and Quality of Tests
The extent of protection of the vaccine for the emerging new variants of COVID-19 is not yet well understood. For a reasonable policy approach for quality the scientific reliability of tests, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that there should be an established minimum duration of immunity, reliable indicators of concentration/quantity antibody, and accurate availability of tests to ensure that the results are within satisfactory levels. The setting of the threshold of tolerable error is a responsibility of the government, not the private companies to avoid conflict of interest.

Ethical and Social Issues
The ethical issues that arises in the acceptability of immunity certificates revolves in the policy objectives and the intended use. The public health restriction on implementing immunity certificates limits the freedom of an individual to perform social activities. For people who are concerned about the economy and business, issuing immunity certificates would be beneficial because it prevents severe consequences of recession. For many people who recovered from COVID-19 or vaccinated, having a COVID-19 immunity certificate will help them get back to their normal lives. For the people who cannot get the the vaccine or not immune, issuing immunity certificates create unfairness and discrimination. Implementing COVID-19 immunity certificates will not justify people who are neither at risk of getting infected of COVID-19 nor contagious.

Existing social disparities in the society is likely to be affected by imposing COVID-19 vaccination certificates. People who are privilege to receive the vaccination will have gained access to going back to normal life while low-income populations will remain disproportionately low on vaccinations which hinders their social privilege to go out. The use of digital health passports/certificates exclude vulnerable and marginalized populations such as people who do not own a smartphones, homeless, low-income populations, and elderly.