--- title: "“Immunity Passports” Could Help Society Get Back to Normal" description: "\"Immunity passports\" given out to workers by government authorities could help speed up the return to normal society, allowing them to get back to work." date: "2020-03-30" modified: "2020-03-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/immunity-passports-help-society-back-normal" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "virus" --- # “Immunity Passports” Could Help Society Get Back to Normal !["Immunity passports" given out to workers by government authorities could help speed up the return to normal society, allowing them to get back to work.]() *\Image: Images via NeedPix/Victor Tangermann\* German researchers are suggesting that "immunity passports" could be given out to workers who have already caught the coronavirus — meaning they're now immune — in a bid to get them back to work and help speed up the return to normal society. A mass study being planned by Germany's public health body and a number of research groups and hospitals, [*The Guardian* reports](), will involve testing blood samples from 100,000 people for coronavirus antibodies, starting in mid-April. The presence of antibodies in the blood indicates that the body is capable of fighting the virus — and is likely indicative that a subject was once a carrier. Such a test is inherently different than those being used right now to tell if somebody has the virus at the time of testing or not. The idea is to give those who have these antibodies an "immunity passport" and allow them to get back to work. Once "herd immunity" is achieved in certain areas, governments could start easing restrictions in larger swathes of the country. But before the government can start handing these passes out, there's still one key question that needs to be answered: once a patient has successfully fought off the virus, are they really immune in the long term? As *The Guardian* points out, contracting SARS didn't guarantee immunity beyond approximately a year after infection. But experts are hopeful. "It could be that this coronavirus causes a pretty robust immune response, which is durable and protective for much longer, maybe a year or even five years, but we don’t know because it’s a new virus," a member of the UK government’s respiratory virus threats advisory group told *The Guardian*. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()