COVID-19 Immunity Testing: A Passport to Inequity
By Françoise Baylis and Natalie Kofler,
Issues in Science and Technology
| 04. 29. 2020
In an already heavily stratified society, the introduction of immunity passports is ethically problematic. They would not only exacerbate current inequities but also create a novel layer of biological inequity.
As COVID-19 case numbers start to plateau in various places, some governments are now focusing on how best to ease restrictions and reopen the economy. In the absence of herd immunity for the population—for which the threshold may be as high as 82%—next steps are not obvious.
Recently, some have touted “immunity passports” for people who have survived infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19) and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Under this proposal, citizens deemed immune to the virus through serological testing (a type of blood test) could be freed from current restrictions and allowed to return to work. According to media reports, Chile is poised to become the first country to issue some kind of immunity cards. Others considering this option include Australia, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In an already heavily stratified society, the introduction of immunity passports is ethically problematic. They would not only exacerbate current inequities but also create a novel layer of biological inequity—one based on a potentially ineffective measure of immunity.
Infection with...
Related Articles
By Alondra Nelson, Science | 09.11.2025
In the United States, the summer of 2025 will be remembered as artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) cruel summer—a season when the unheeded risks and dangers of AI became undeniably clear. Recent months have made visible the stakes of the unchecked use...
By Emma McDonald Kennedy
| 09.25.2025
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to make IVF more accessible. He made the commitment central to his campaign, even referring to himself as the “father of IVF.” In his first month in office, Trump issued an executive order promising to expand IVF access. The order set a 90-day deadline for policy recommendations for “lowering costs and reducing barriers to IVF,” although it didn’t make any substantive reproductive healthcare policy changes.
The response to the...
Sir Francis Galton, 1890s, by Eveleen Myers (née Tennant)
npg.org
Public Domain via Wikipedia
As has been discussed in recent issues of Biopolitical Times (1, 2), there are, increasingly, companies that claim to be selling parents better babies by selecting the “best” embryos. These services don’t come cheap – think $50,000, or even more, for embryo testing, plus perhaps as much again for IVF and concomitant services. To most of us, that is extremely expensive...
By Johana Bhuiyan, The Guardian | 09.23.2025
In March 2021, a 25-year-old US citizen was traveling through Chicago’s Midway airport when they were stopped by US border patrol agents. Though charged with no crime, the 25-year-old was subjected to a cheek swab to collect their DNA, which...
