| Notes |
Skip to main content
Advertisement
The Guardian - Back to home
Support The Guardian
Available for everyone, funded by readers
ContributeSubscribeSearch jobsSign in
Search current edition: US edition
News
Opinion
Sport
Culture
Lifestyle
Show More
World
Europe
US
Americas
Asia
Australia
Middle East
Africa
Inequality
Global development
Coronavirus outbreak
'Immunity passports' could speed up return to work after Covid-19
German researchers studying how lockdown restrictions could be lifted for some people
Coronavirus – latest updates
See all our coronavirus coverage
Kate Proctor, Ian Sample and Philip Oltermann
Mon 30 Mar 2020 14.22 EDTLast modified on Mon 30 Mar 2020 18.03 EDT
Shares
3,445
A technician opens a shipment of patient swabs to test them for possible coronavirus infection in a lab room at the IFLb medical lab in Berlin
A technician opens a shipment of patient swabs to test them for possible coronavirus infection in a lab room at the IFLb medical lab in Berlin on Monday. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
“Immunity passports” for key workers could be a way of getting people who have had coronavirus back into the workforce more quickly, scientists and politicians in the UK have suggested.
Researchers in Germany are currently preparing a mass study into how many people are already immune to the Covid-19 virus, allowing authorities to eventually issue passes to exclude workers from restrictive measures currently in place.
The study, which is yet to finalise funding, would involve testing the blood of more than 100,000 volunteers for coronavirus antibodies from mid-April. The test would then be repeated at regular intervals on an accumulatively larger sample of the population, to track the pandemic’s progress.
Advertisement
The shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said: “Germany appears to be leading the way in the testing and we have much to learn from their approach. I’ve repeatedly called for more testing and contact tracing in the UK, and we should be looking at initiatives like this closely.”
The results of the German study, organised by the government’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, the German Centre for Infection Research, the Institute for Virology at Berlin’s Charite hospital and blood donation services, would make it easier to decide when and where schools in the country could reopen, and which people are safe to go back to work.
“Those who are immune could be issued with a kind of vaccination pass that would for example allow them to exempted from restrictions on their activity,” said Gerard Krause, head of epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig. The German government has not yet officially commented on the proposal for such a certificate made by scientists.
Coronavirus: the week explained - sign up for our email newsletter
Read more
Dr Philippa Whitford, an SNP MP and former surgeon, said immunity passports could be used specifically for key workers in healthcare in the UK but would be difficult to roll out more widely across the country because of the level of administration needed.
Whitford, who is also chair of the all-party parliamentary group for vaccines, said the length of time someone may have immunity after they have had Covid-19 was still largely unknown. Someone contracting Sars, which is also a coronavirus, did not have long-term immunity – potentially only up to a year after the infection.
Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of the government’s new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group, said people who have recovered and test positive for coronavirus antibodies should no longer be infectious themselves and would be expected to have at least some immunity to the virus.
He said the worse case scenario – based on what is known about immunity to coronaviruses that cause common colds – is that former patients would have only partial resistance for about three months.
Advertisement
“It could be that this coronavirus causes a pretty robust immune response, which is durable and protective for much longer, maybe a year or even five years, but we don’t know because it’s a new virus,” he said.
Immunity passports are a “reasonable provisional measure”, Openshaw said, but he stressed that people granted the passports would have to be kept under close observation to ensure they were not becoming reinfected.
“In subsequent monitoring, it would be really important to determine whether those who do return to normal circulation are in fact protected,” he said.
Is the spread of coronavirus in the UK really slowing down?
Read more
It is unclear whether the millions of antibody tests the government has ordered will be sophisticated enough to reveal the extent of a person’s immunity, rather than simply returning a positive or negative result for circulating antibodies.
Concerns have been raised that wider immunity passport schemes could incentivise certain groups, such as young people who are falling into debt through lack of work, to actively contract the virus in the hope that they can return to their jobs once recovered.
4:59
Who is most at risk from coronavirus and why? – video explainer
But Openshaw said it would be “highly inadvisable” to breach the government’s lockdown rules and intentionally risk infection.
“Although there are risk factors for severity of illness and admission to intensive care, quite a high proportion who are being admitted are otherwise well and do not have those risk factors,” he said.
“It would be putting your life at risk to try and catch it at the moment. It would be much better to adhere to social distancing and to wait for the vaccine.”
Topics
Coronavirus outbreak
Germany
Europe
Health
news
Share on LinkedInShare on Pinterest
Reuse this content
Advertisement
Read The
Guardian without
interruption on all
your devices
Subscribe now
most viewed in US
How to make a non-medical coronavirus face mask – no sewing required
Donald Trump 'lost $1bn in a month' from coronavirus lockdown
Live Coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson in intensive care as confirmed cases in Africa pass 10,000
Live Coronavirus US live: Donald Trump holds daily press briefing
Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state
more on this story
How can Coronavirus models get it so wrong?
3h
How can Coronavirus models get it so wrong?
When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
2d
When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
Plasma from coronavirus survivors found to help severely ill patients
9h
Plasma from coronavirus survivors found to help severely ill patients
Hydroxychloroquine: how an unproven drug became Trump’s coronavirus 'miracle cure'
17h
Hydroxychloroquine: how an unproven drug became Trump’s coronavirus 'miracle cure'
Cats can infect each other with coronavirus, Chinese study finds
6d
Cats can infect each other with coronavirus, Chinese study finds
The race to find a coronavirus treatment has one major obstacle: big pharma
Ara Darzi
6d
694The race to find a coronavirus treatment has one major obstacle: big pharma
New study sheds light on coronavirus infection mechanism
30 Mar 2020
New study sheds light on coronavirus infection mechanism
Why do some young people die of coronavirus?
2d
Why do some young people die of coronavirus?
Promoted links
from around the web
Recommended by Outbrain
About this Content
Plumbing Services Cost in Philadelphia Might Surprise You! Search For Plumbing Services In Philadelphia
Plumbing Services Cost in Philadelphia Might Surprise You! Search For Plumbing Services In Philadelphia
YAHOO! SEARCH
Before you renew Amazon Prime, read this
Before you renew Amazon Prime, read this
WIKIBUY
Verbena 'Lollipop'
WAYSIDE GARDENS
Women's Happiness Sewing Machine Crusher Vee
LIFE IS GOOD
About this Content
Most popular
World
Europe
US
Americas
Asia
Australia
Middle East
Africa
Inequality
Global development
News
Opinion
Sport
Culture
Lifestyle
About us
Contact us
Complaints & corrections
SecureDrop
Work for us
Privacy settings
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Terms & conditions
Help
All topics
All writers
Digital newspaper archive
Facebook
Twitter
Advertise with us
Guardian Labs
Search jobs
Dating
Discount Codes
Support The Guardian
Available for everyone, funded by readers
ContributeSubscribe
Back to top
© 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
Close the support banner
Trust has never
mattered more
Thanks to your support, we can continue to provide our vital reporting – in times of crisis and beyond. Millions of readers across the world are visiting the Guardian every day for open, independent, accurate journalism. Trusted news has never been so important, and neither has your support.
Contribute
|