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Public Health

Privileges and Immunity Certification During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Educational Objective
To understand the Immunity Certification during the COVID-19 Pandemic can increase social privilege and inequities

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: May 6, 2020

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Article Information and Disclosures

Mark A. Hall, JD¹;

David M. Studdert, LLB, ScD²

Author Affiliations

¹Wake Forest University Schools of Law and Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
²Stanford University Schools of Law and Medicine, Stanford, California

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As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis enters its next phase, attention turns to the widespread testing programs needed to resume and maintain normal life activities.¹ Effective prevention and surveillance require testing for active infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and for antibodies that indicate prior infection and potential immunity.² There is an established approach for infected individuals: mild cases self-isolate; and severe cases receive treatment. But what is the appropriate response for people with positive antibody tests?

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Article Information

Published Online: May 6, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7712

Correction: This article was corrected on May 13, 2020, for minor editing changes.

Corresponding Author: Mark A. Hall, JD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Social Science and Health Policy, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157 (mhall@wakehealth.edu).

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

References

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Greely HT . Practical and ethical conundrums behind COVID-19 immunity certificates. Boston.com. April 11, 2019. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://www.boston.com/news/health/2020/04/11/first-opinion-covid-19-immunity-certificates-practical-and-ethical-conundrums

Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Pandemic preparedness in the workplace and the Americans With Disabilities Act. EEOC-NVTA-2009-3. March 21, 2020. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/pandemic_flu.html

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AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.