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A few months ago, a number of countries seemed to be considering implementing ‘immunity passports’.

An ‘immunity passport’ is a certification that the holder has had COVID-19, has built up antibodies, and is less likely to contract it again, which could allow them to enter countries without undergoing quarantine or adhering to other protocols.

In late September, Forbes spoke to Dr Mark Kortepeter, a physician and biodefense expert who says that we now have proof that people can be infected a second time, citing cases from Hong Kong, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The time frame, he says, from the initial illness in these individuals to the time of second infection “has ranged from three weeks to 142 days”.

At the same time, these examples might be the exception, not the rule. Despite millions of COVID-19 cases worldwide, few reinfections have been reported. What this tells us in general, is that while we have a better grasp on how the virus works than we did at the start of the pandemic, we still have a lot to learn.

In this sense, the idea of the immunity passport seems to have been largely abandoned in favour of a COVID-19 passport, the first of which will be launched today.

In South Africa, those entering or leaving the country have to produce a COVID-19 test no older than 72 hours.

The new passport seems to be following a similar procedure to our system.

The Telegraph reports that “the world’s first coronavirus passport is being launched” today, to “enable people to travel without having to quarantine”.

Volunteer passengers travelling on two of the world’s biggest airlines, United Airlines and Cathay Pacific, and travelling through London Heathrow, will be the first to test the technology, which is backed by the US government.

The passengers will upload their COVID-19 test results from an approved laboratory onto a digitised health passport up to 72 hours before they fly. Officials at the airport will then scan the data to determine whether or not the person is virus-free.

If the trial is successful, this would allow passengers to reduce their time in quarantine upon entering countries.

The aim is to create a standardised global testing system in which governments and airlines can trust passengers’ results because they are from reputable laboratories and on a recognised health passport.

The passport has come about through a partnership between the Commons Project, the World Economic Forum, and government representatives from 37 countries.

London Heathrow’s process improvement director, Mark Burgess, says:

“We’re looking forward to reviewing the findings of these trials and using the learnings to support the recovery of an industry that provides so many jobs and economic opportunities globally.”

While this sounds like a decent system, I’d be interested to see how it pans out if it makes it to South Africa.

Even with our relatively simple screening measures, government ministers are scrambling to disentangle the chaos created by poor communication, confusing regulations, and mixed messages about protocols for international travellers.

[source:forbes&telegraph]