December 1, 2020

expert comments about immunity passports

Following the comments by Michael Gove this morning and health minister Nadhim Zahawi yesterday, here are some more general comments on the concept of “immunity/vaccine passports”.

Prof Richard Tedder, Senior Research Investigator in Medical Virology, Imperial College London, said:

“The concept of an ‘immunity passport’ for SARS coronavirus 2 is in principle now scientifically acceptable given the recent data from Oxford which showed that presence of antibodies was associated with negative PCR test result. This suggests that antibody to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein confers a high level of protective immunity. Of course this immunity is specific for SARS-CoV-2 and does not extend to the other seasonal respiratory viruses which at this time of year will pass readily from person to person unless also interrupted by specific vaccine induced or naturally acquired pre-existing antibody.

“Interestingly such passports already exist and apply for those intercontinental travellers who may requires evidence of Yellow fever immunisation to enter designated countries.

“Informing an individual that they may be ‘immune’ to a particular infection may lead to a reduction in precautionary measures such as social distancing and this is one of the overriding concern about how we should use the knowledge that a particular individual may have protective immunity, in this case against SARS CoV 2. In addition, any particular antibody test must have high specificity as the inevitable change in behaviour, even if this is merely a new willingness to travel for essential work, may put the individual, and their contacts, at increased risk of infection if the test is not very specific. In this way an ‘immunity passport’ brings additional problems but if these are recognised and contained it will provide a comfort to those fortunate to have sufficient levels of antibody of sufficient specificity.”

Prof Deborah Dunn-Walters, Chair of the British Society for Immunology COVID-19 and Immunology taskforce and Professor of Immunology at the University of Surrey, said:

“The restrictions on our daily lives over the past nine months have put a strain on all of us and the concept of ‘vaccine passports’ can sound appealing as we look for possible ways to exit the pandemic.  However, we need to understand more detail about the exact protection any future COVID-19 vaccine might provide before knowing if ‘vaccine passports’ are a viable possibility to discuss.  For example, how long would vaccination provide protection against contracting COVID-19?  Would vaccination stop you from transmitting the illness as well as preventing you getting sick?  These are just a couple of the questions that will need to be answered, on top of the ethical considerations, before we can start to consider the possibility of ‘vaccine passports’.”

Dr Ana Beduschi, from the University of Exeter Law School, who is the principal investigator of a project on digital health passports funded by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research & Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19, said:

“Conceivably, requiring individuals to display their health status routinely may be less restrictive on their freedoms than imposing a lockdown.  However, it is crucial to examine the conditions linked to the implementation of immunity passports.

“In this regard, the availability and affordability of COVID-19 tests and, eventually, vaccines are key aspects.  If some people cannot access or afford COVID-19 tests or vaccines, they will not be able to prove their health status, thus having their freedoms de facto restricted.

“Unless the tests and, once available, vaccines are accessible to all, any large-scale deployment of immunity passports could disproportionately segment the society and potentially breach the rights to equality and non-discrimination.”

Declared interests

Prof Deborah Dunn-Walters: “No interests to declare.”

None others received.

Quotes sent out yesterday (Monday 30 November 2020) in response to comments made by Nadhim Zahawi.