Now that nations around the world are slowly trying to open up and getting prepared to live in the new world, there has been some buzz about what is called a Health Passport, or Immunity Passport. Countries such as Germany, France, UK, Italy, and others are now trying to ascertain whether they can provide people with these health passports in order to allow them to travel freely.
The Health Passport could either be digital or physical, and it is going to show whether somebody has the Coronavirus or not. It will further confirm whether a particular person has become immune to the SARS-CoV-2. Not only travel, but such an immunity certification can also allow individuals to return to work etc. However, this may not be a fitting way to determine someone’s immunity.
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), there’s no evidence to show people with antibodies are immune to a second infection. So the accuracy of the health passport is debatable. WHO has also noted that getting a health passport could make such individuals ignore public health advice.
In the UK, tech firms are already discussing the possibility of developing such health or immunity passports so as to allow people to return to work safely. They are going to use facial biometrics to provide such a passport or certificate to the citizens. According to reports, one company has already submitted a detailed plan to the government. It might happen sooner than we can imagine.