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649848 tn?1534633700

"Immunity Certificates"

Dr. Fauci says immunity certificates 'possible' after coronavirus pandemic. Here's what that means.
Adrianna Rodriguez
USA TODAY

"As the White House and state officials quarrel over authority to lift social distancing restrictions in the U.S., European countries already past their peak of COVID-19 cases are mulling strategies to reopen.

Italy’s special commissioner for the virus emergency Domenico Arcuri said exit from the lockdown will include increased virus testing, the deployment of a voluntary contact-tracing app and mandatory antibody blood tests as the country seeks to set up a system of “immunity passports.”

German researchers also are floating ideas for “immunity certificates” based on an antibody blood test study at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, study author and epidemiologist Gerard Krause told German magazine Der Spiegel.

Even America’s leading coronavirus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN’s “New Day” last week that immunity certificates are being discussed.

“It’s one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure who the vulnerable people are and not,” he said. “I think it might actually have some merit.”

Some experts argue immunity certificates – documentation verifying a person is immune to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 – could help reopen the economy by allowing some people to safely return to work, eat at restaurants and partake in activities prohibited by social distancing restrictions.

Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, director of Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, said enacting such a policy isn't so easy.

Categorization beyond immune and not immune would be required, Kahn said, such as by age or residence. Younger people more resilient to the virus likely would be favored to receive certification.

And if an entire household wasn't immune, the person with the immunity certificate could bring the virus back home and infect the family.

“It would be super complicated to institute, we haven’t gotten a clear answer on how it would work because of all these complications,” Kahn said.

There also are concerns about stigmatizing immune or not immune people, he added.

“Anytime you publicly brand people whether it’s for them to be able to do this or not, it could have this stigmatizing effect,” he said. “All of that would have to be managed somehow.”

Harald Schmidt, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, compared immunity documents to crosses that marked the homes of those infected with plague in Europe in centuries past. An immunity certificate would be a "badge of honor," he said, and those without one would be marginalized.

Schmidt also worries about the political consequences on undocumented immigrants. If certification requires proof of residency, he said, they would be less likely to test for immunity. And there could be other long-term impacts.

"It's not helpful if we give them immunity from deportation while assessing virological immunity but then two years do the line, knock on their door and throw them out of the country," he said."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/04/16/covid-19-fauci-says-immunity-certificates-possible-what-they/2987765001/?for-guid=4624a5cc-e825-43c0-b9e6-2eba326e4d10&utm_source=usatoday-Coronavirus%20Watch&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline_greeting&utm_term=list_article_thumb
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649848 tn?1534633700
I read today that Apple and Google are coming out with apps that will be installed on cell phones to track contacts, etc.  You won't be able to delete the apps, but you do have the option to "disable" them...  I think before it's all said and done, we will have "something" that says we're free of the virus and it's okay to move about freely...  It's a bunch of crap and I'm hoping that "somebody" has the fortitude to stand up and say "enough is enough".  

Sounds like your ballot and voting day will be like mine - choosing the one you hope will do best, but know they won't be different from anyone else, then leave the polling place "feeling Dirty and asking God to have Mercy on your Soul." - perfect way to put it.
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206807 tn?1331936184
As usual La. Senator Bill Cassidy was pushing for this and/or Vaccination  Cards for COVID -19 before returning to work. So here we are in June with no Vaccination and there will probably never be one because of Mutation. It's a shame that the ones running against him are no better. So it will be a typical La. Ballot that you choose the best looking **** and vote for it. Leaving the Polls feeling Dirty and asking God to have Mercy on your Soul.
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