A top New Zealand immunologist says issuing Covid-19 "immunity passports", like those proposed overseas, is an “intelligent” and “sensible” way back to normal if effective.
Professor Graham Le Gros, an immunologist at the Malaghan Institue, told TVNZ’s Seven Sharp issuing these passports is one way New Zealand can “think of ways to actually get ourselves out of this situation” as it can categorise who is able to start working again safely.
"Immunity passports" are being suggested in the UK and Germany as a way to issue certificates to people who aren’t at risk of contracting Covid-19 anymore after they’ve had it.
“An immunity passport would be an intelligent, sensible way to get things going again if it can be shown to work effectively,” Professor Le Gros said.
He said having passports would be “absolutely essential” for frontline healthcare workers so they know if they are at risk of contracting the virus or not.
However, he said the “devil’s in the detail”.
“We don’t know enough about this virus yet to really understand what an immune antibody looks like,” he said.
“Just having had the infection doesn’t mean to say that you are immune.”
He said we had to learn more about how the body is affected by the virus, and then develop a way to effectively test for immunity after finding out what it truly means to be immune to Covid-19.
A long-term solution, instead, lies in developing a vaccine, Professor Le Gros said.
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