Coronavirus immunity passports could create a world of ‘us and them’. But here’s why they make sense

Dividing groups of people into "us" and "them" isn't usually a good idea, but in the scary new world of COVID-19, it makes a certain sense. Issuing "immunity licenses" – aka passports or certificates – to people whose blood contains neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus may be a safer way to reopen parts of the economy than letting unchecked crowds spill onto beaches, pack into subway cars, and fill eateries, stadiums, and concert venues.

 

Immunity licenses would "give holders certain time-limited work and social freedoms, joining larger gatherings or returning to nonessential jobs," wrote Mark A. Hall, of the Wake Forest University Schools of Law and Medicine and David M. Studdert, from Stanford University Schools of Law and Medicine, in a recent Viewpoint in JAMA.

 

License holders could safely:

 

     Serve pizza, make lattes, scoop ice cream.
     Visit hospitalized loved ones or care for patients.
     Work in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, day care centers, schools, and fitness centers.
     Cut hair, trim nails, fill cavities, and fit eyeglasses

 

To continue reading, go to Genetic Literacy Project, where this post first appeared.