COVID-19 immunity passports and vaccination certificates: scientific, equitable, and legal challenges

Type Journal Article Author Alexandra L Phelan URL https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31034-5.pdf Series The Lancet Comment Volume 395 Publication The Lancet / Center for Global Health Science and Security, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; and O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, USA Date 04/05/2020 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(20)31034-5 Abstract Many governments are looking for paths out of restrictive physical distancing measures imposed to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With a potential vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) many months away,1 one proposal that some governments have suggested, including Chile, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the USA,2 is the use of immunity passports—ie, digital or physical documents that certify an individual has been infected and is purportedly immune to SARS-CoV-2.