Would you feel safer stepping onto an airplane if you knew that everyone around you, even in close quarters, had developed antibodies to COVID-19?
With rapid testing technology rolling out and even put into use by Emirates to screen passengers in Dubai, this may be the future of travel until (and even when) a vaccine is developed.
Passengers departing on Emirates on Wednesday for Tunisia were directed to the Dubai Health Authority at check-in, who performed a blood test. Within 10 minutes, results were available revealing whether the traveller been exposed to the virus and developed antibodies against it.
Emirates says this is not just for health reasons, but for visa reasons:
“This will enable us to conduct on-site tests and provide immediate confirmation for Emirates passengers traveling to countries that require COVID-19 test certificates.”
As the world begins to re-open this summer, it is likely that many nations who re-open (if they re-open) will make so contingent upon testing that clears a passenger to fly. Such testing requirements are under discussion in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Once a vaccine is developed, it will likely become about as mandatory as requiring a yellow fever vaccination in many countries of the world.
In the meantime, though, are you willing to submit to a test before each flight?
Privacy, Civil Liberties, Accuracy Concerns?
I view anti-vaxxers as dangerous and delusional, but the science (speaking as a non-scientist) seems to suggest that COVID-19 may mutate and a vaccine may even be prove ineffective as the virus matures. That will not necessarily render a universal vaccine worthless, but there’s a possibility that a single vaccine may not be as effective as originally hoped, depending upon how COVID-19 spreads.
And any test that involves blood is certainly likely to trigger discomfort. What about a passenger who flies 2-3 times per week? Must the test be taken every time? Will it be just like a diabetes test? Will there be other, less-invasive tests that are accurate?
Speaking of accuracy, surely there will be some false positives and missed results. Will the public be willing to accept those? Would checking temperatures, heart rates, and respiratory rates be equally or even more effective?
Then there is time/scope. Whenever people say we should have Israeli-style interrogations instead of the TSA in the USA, I shake my head. Not because the Israeli system is inferior (it’s better) but because the sheer size and scope of travel in the USA (and other populated nations) makes this impossible. The manpower required would be astronomical. I suspect wide scale testing would run into the same logistical (and thereby economic) concerns in the USA.
I know, a lot of questions right now with limited answers. But I’m trying to think through a paradigm in which we could return somewhat to a semblance of normalcy when flying without the deep fear and dread that hangs over it now from so much of the population.
CONCLUSION
Until a vaccine is developed, I am quite ready to submit any blood tests or other tests knowing that those around me have also done so. It is not a perfect solution, but it is a start.
I love to travel, but I don’t NEED to travel. Adding another act to the TSA Dog-And-Pony Show seems like a feel good response to an already convoluted process. Who will administer said tests? Will we have a TSA & Health
Screening combo, hiring semi-competent testers off the street? In order to enter my workplace NOW I must sanitize my hands, get my own mask from a box and have my temperature scanned by a guy who looks and sounds like he rode in on the last Cannonball from Hooterville. My temperature yesterday was 92.6* degrees according to Health Screener “Cletus”. Yes, 92.6*. Shouldn’t I be on the verge of hypothermia or something like that?
To be clear, I’m happy to forgo also testing also knowing no one else onboard has been tested. But this testing is a compromise I am wiling to make.
I would happily be tested in order to be able to fly or stay in a hotel or go to a national park. I would be happy to just be able to get back to life and I think testing is a way to get there.
No easy answers. Could result in millions of people told at the last moment that they can’t fly, some of whom are well. Some sick people would not be positive and spread it, causing fear.
It’s possible that for the next 20 years, if you have a cold, you could actually have a mutated Covid-19 and occasionally die. Nobody yet knows.
I have a few concerns, coming from the medical laboratory industry myself. Foremost on my mind is always training. What qualifies these individuals to collect and test specimens? Yes these may be POCT (Point of Care Testing), however, POCT regulations vary by state. Will they be collecting from everyone, infants included? You cannot perform a finger stick on an infant as it may cause injury due to the lack of tissue that may lead to osteomyelitis. Will they know the tool for proper and safe collection? If the pics shown on this page are any indication, they already have one huge strike against them; PolyVinyl gloves. These gloves have been eliminated from use in the medical setting as they are ineffective barrier protection. If you’re result is positive, what action is taken? Are you banned from your flight because the result indicates presence of immunoglobulins? What immunoglobulin is present IgG, IgM, or a combination of both? Being that this is POCT will they make this determination and begin treatment?
I’m all for a better life through advances in medical science, however, there are too many variables that come into play.
Just my $0.02
Another missing item of grave concern; no hand washing stations. Hand sanitizer does not replace hand washing especially in the setting of contact with Blood or OPIM. The expectation is to wash hands before donning and doffing gloves for all contact with every patient, also specimen collection and handling.
Great points. Thanks for your comment.
Ung. Ung. Ung.
Very unlikely to have false positives. Much more likely to have false negatives and to be in the “window period.”
And if u test positive for antibodies, it may mean you are actually contagious. People have detectible virus on average for three weeks, far longer than it takes to develop detectable antibodies.
Solo positive IgG and negative IgM? Well, most people won’t fall into this category at this time. And we actually don’t know about antibody subclass and time course and whether having antibodies actually really makes u immune.
The devil is in the details, to the point that any protocol is of theoretical benefit only and may or may not be abandoned. The discussion in the media is vague to the point of being useless at this point.
Privacy = f that.
If every airline was testing before a flight, then I’d be on a plane tomorrow. We all would be safer, and the airlines would be filling the vaccuum left by the lack of leadership cause by the virus that is Trump-19.
I’d be happier with some pre-boarding testing. But it’s a moot point: because the reality is we’re not going anywhere this ( northern) summer…and probably not winter either. We need to get used to the idea that until ( if..) there’s a vaccine, then the reopening of borders is going to be so limited and complex, that ‘ordinary’ folk like us will find it very difficult to travel internationally. I hope I’m wrong.
This virus is going to decimate countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, The Philippines, much of Africa , the ME, Latin America. Tragic.
Meanwhile MAGA Moron encourages dangerous civil disobedience by the gun-toting deplorables, risking further outbreaks/spread.
“I view anti-vaxxers as dangerous and delusional,” Really Matthew? I guess you are lucky not to know someone where a vaccine went terribly wrong. It happens, nore often than you apparently are willing to accept. My take is you are a smart person Matthew, maybe dig into the dangerous and delusional world. You might be surprised.
When the COVID vaccine eventually does come out, feel free to take a pass then and let the next person in line, who actually believes in medicine & science, take your place. Thanks!
U.S. passport holders are going to pay for the Trump administration’s incompetence. I’m glad I have a second EU passport, because I think it will be more useful in the years ahead.
The short answer to your question is, if taking a test is a prerequisite to getting on a plane, then yes, I’ll take it.
As someone else mentioned, though, the devil is in the details. Antibody tests sound nice, but if that recent Stanford study is right, and only 3-5% of the population has been infected so far, they’re not going to do much good. I guess you could require a negative result on one of those “rapid” virus tests at the airport before going through security, but I’m not sure how you ensure that you have trained personnel to conduct the tests at all times (or for that matter, where exactly would you conduct them). I suppose you could provide the option of providing a negative test result from a doctor’s office performed within the last 48 hours or something. I’m sure people smarter than me will figure something out, but the logistical challenges seem significant to me.