What is a coronavirus immunity certificate? US may start issuing them

Government officials are considering issuing “immunity certificates” to people at low risk of contracting COVID-19, as part of a larger effort to safely ease the country back to a relative normal.

“It’s one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure who the vulnerable people are,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN. “This something that’s being discussed. I think it might actually have some merit.”

With the help of wide-scale blood testing, medical professionals could determine who has already had coronavirus and developed antibodies against it, and who hasn’t and is still vulnerable, McClatchy News reported.

Researchers are rushing to make such testing available on a large scale, which one expert told McClatchy News is key to preventing future outbreaks.

“Oftentimes you need to ensure that 80% of your population is well protected for a condition to burn out,” Dr. Cameron R. Wolfe, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University, told McClatchy.

More antibody testing will become available “within a week or so,” Fauci told CNN. Highlighting the importance, he added “As we look forward, as we get to the point of at least considering opening up the country, as it were, it’s very important to appreciate and to understand how much that virus has penetrated the society.”

But whether Americans should be required to carry some sort of certificate noting the results of their test is still undecided.

In Germany, immunity certificates aren’t an idea; they’re already being issued, according to Politico, and other European countries may soon follow in Germany’s footsteps.

China has implemented its own color-coding system to rate a given citizen’s contagion risk, requiring people to display their color on their phones, Politico reported.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "What is a coronavirus immunity certificate? US may start issuing them."