Chile could, like Israel, implement individual “immunity passports” for Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The plan is to issue individuals who have been administered the two doses of the vaccine with a certificate in order to provide them with “greater mobility,” said Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris.

As its Covid-19 vaccination campaign proceeds steadily, the Chilean government is considering implementing a “green card” for people who have been fully immunized, which would afford them greater mobility and access to activities currently restricted under current health restrictions.

According to the Ministry of Health, the proposal has been discussed at a meeting between President Sebastián Piñera and Foreign Minister Andrés Allamand with the leaders of the Forum for the Progress of South America (PROSUR). The video conference was also attended by high-level representatives from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay.

“We discussed this topic. The plan is to have a ‘green card’ or a card that certifies that the individual has been vaccinated with the two doses, because we know that on the seventh day after the second dose, the amount of antibodies ensures immunity, as it were, or very effective protection against the disease,” explained Chilean Minister of Health Enrique Paris.

Israel was the first country to implement the measure, which has been replicated by other countries, to the point that the European Union announced on Thursday that it is moving ahead with the development of a “health passport” for travel within the bloc.

According to Minister Paris, the measure has not been designed “as an obligation”, instead the card is intended to “prevent having to take a PCR or tests before an individual is allowed to enter Chile or to travel, or go somewhere.”

At the PROSUR meeting held in Chile, it was agreed that the countries involved should draw up a common document. “We agreed to work together in order to create a consistent protocol, known by all countries,” said Minister Paris.

For Foreign Minister Allamand, the measure “is common sense.” He also stressed that, when an individual is administered the first dose in Chile, “he or she already has a card confirming that it was indeed administered and the date on which it occurred.”

By late Thursday, February 25th, Chile was reported to have reached 3,211,179 immunizations, 79,906 of them on that day alone.

Despite the fast progress, Paris called for vaccination to be continued. “Being in possession of the card confirming that an individual has been vaccinated with the two doses, that person will be able to have ‘more freedom’, while remaining responsible, because we have said that herd immunity will only be achieved when we have immunized 80% of the susceptible population and we estimate that this will occur by the end of June,” Paris finalized.

By Friday, February 26th, the records show 1,860,645 people aged 65 years or older, representing 57.9% of the total, have been vaccinated. Among the people immunized, 58.8% are women, and 41.2% are men.

Vaccination of dialysis patients and solid organ transplant recipients was expected to continue on Friday.

Source: Infobae