Germany plans nationwide antibody testing for possible immunity certificates
At the end of March, jointly organised by the Robert Koch Institute (Germany’s public health body), the German Centre for Infection Research, the Institute for Virology at Berlin’s Charite hospital, and blood donation services, researchers planned to begin conducting blood tests among the general public in order to determine how many people test positive for antibodies to the coronavirus. Gerard Krause, head of epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, and Brauinschweig, suggested that those testing positive would be issued immunity certificates that could allow them exceptions from the restrictions imposed on the population to curb the spread of the pandemic. Preliminary results were expected in May.
Writer: Lydia Smith; Kate Proctor, Ian Sample, and Philip Oltermann
Publication: Newsweek; Guardian