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Football matches with packed stadiums, trips without quarantine, visits to discos and restaurants without fear of contracting the coronavirus: the positive news from the vaccination investigations is fueling the hope of returning to normality soon. And they give new impetus to a long-running debate: should people who have antibodies due to infection or who are vaccinated against Covid-19 benefit from certain relief if they are certain that they are immune for a certain period of time? Do you need an immunity card, a kind of crown passport?
The National Councilor of the CVP of Aargau, Ruth Humbel, can imagine it, as she said in the TeleZüri program “Sonntalk”. If you are certain that a vaccine will also prevent infection, you believe that at large events such as soccer games, for example, only people who are immune to the coronavirus can be allowed in. The president of the National Council Health Commission (SGK) suggests the same rules for traveling or accessing the clubs. “Anyone who is vaccinated would have more freedom,” says Humbel. You are considering discussing your ideas at SGK or submitting a proposal.
Are there deliberate infections?
The introduction of a crown pass raises a number of controversial issues. How do you ensure that such a certificate does not protect the non-immune from discrimination and serves the common good? Despite such concerns, an immunity card has the approval of the people. This is demonstrated by a study that appeared a few days ago in the magazine “Swiss Medical Weekly”. The Geneva University Hospital interviewed about 1,400 people in the canton of Geneva. About two-thirds said that an immunity card should be offered to the population if immunity is guaranteed. Genevans find this type of identification particularly useful for air travel and border crossings, but also for participating in important events. 49 percent even defended the mandatory nature of immunity cards. However, two-thirds also feel a risk of discrimination. And nearly a third fear that a corona pass could encourage people to deliberately contract the virus and thus obtain a free ticket to fully participate in social life.
Professor Idris Guessous is the chief physician of the polyclinic of the Geneva University Hospital. The study co-author does not make any recommendation for or against a corona immunity card.
The ethical objections, the possible unequal treatment between the immune and the non-soulful, also concern Guessous. For him it is clear: if an immunity card is introduced, accompanying measures are needed so that it is also acceptable to people without antibodies, so that it benefits society as a whole.
Guessous does not believe that immunity cards should be used a priori to attend sporting events such as football matches. However, you can imagine that in such a scenario non-immune people could safely attend a football match thanks to the provision of free protective masks or corona tests.
Taskforce warns of discrimination
One of the goals of the immunity card is to prevent another extensive shutdown of public life. “The confinements increase social inequalities,” says Nehme Mayssam, co-author of the study. This aspect should be taken into account in the discussion.
The Federal Office of Public Health is reluctant. “Before it is clear what quality and efficacy the approved Covid-19 vaccines will have, it is too early to discuss the design of the immunity certificates,” says spokeswoman Katrin Holenstein. The federal Covid-19 task force is also stepping on the brakes on this issue. “At this point, however, it is premature for us to comment on this from a scientific point of view,” he says through the media office. However, in an article published on April 22, federal scientific advisers are highly skeptical of immunity certificates. They see it as a punishment for those who, thanks to protection measures, have not been infected with the corona virus.
The task force even refers to the dark times of the past. In Italy, for example, at the time of fascism, health passes were used to control foreign workers as part of a campaign against malaria. The task force warns of discrimination against non-immune people, including in the world of work. An immunity card can only be justified if direct and indirect discrimination is avoided at the same time. Christoph Rehmann-Sutter also points out this aspect: “If it is fair that a group, here the immune one, has certain advantages or privileges, then everyone, including the disadvantaged, should benefit from it,” said the professor. for the theory and ethics of life sciences at the University of Lübeck in an interview with our newspaper.
Ruth Humbel sees no potential for discrimination in an immunity passport, as long as there is enough vaccine available for everyone who wants to get vaccinated: “Those who protect themselves also protect others, and therefore show solidarity. In return, these people should get an advantage. “
In action for the Russian ice hockey league
In Germany, Health Minister Jens Spahn launched plans for a crown passport as early as the spring, but activated the German Ethics Council after severe criticism. He declined the introduction in September because too many questions about immune protection remained unanswered. Half of the council members consider an immunity card to be sensible under certain conditions, so that, for example, immune teachers or caregivers can continue working when the number of infections increases.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn.
© Keystone
Data protection compliant technology is now available to document one’s immunity. Several Swiss companies, for example Sicpa based in Lausanne, offer QR codes with secure blockchain technology that can be displayed on a mobile phone or printed on paper. “Our solution is reliable and will allow people to travel again, visit relatives, work,” says Philippe Gillet, Sicpa scientific director and professor at ETH Lausanne.
Sicpa technology is already in use in Corona, among other things, in Russia’s top ice hockey league or for handling air travel between Russia and Asia. People who can prove through a negative test that they are not currently carrying the coronavirus can chase the disc or get on the plane without worry.
