Coronavirus: 'No evidence' recovered patients are immune to re-infection, warns WHO – The Independent, Independent

                                                                         

The World Health Organization says there is no evidence that people who have recovered from coronavirus and have antibodies are protected against a second infection.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

In a scientific brief published on Saturday , the United Nations agency warned against countries issuing “immunity passports” and “risk-free” certificates “that would allow people to return to work or travel, relying on” proof “that they would be protected against reinfection.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

WHO reports that relying on antibodies at this stage of the pandemic could increase the risk of spreading the virus, and claims that antibody testing has not yet been proven as a reliable next step as countries look to reopen after quarantines and other mitigation efforts.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

                            

The report says: “People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Several studies have discovered that people who did recover from Covid – do possess antibodies, but WHO insists that the low levels of neutralizing antibodies in the blood in those cases are not enough to guarantee immunity from the disease.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The report follows Chile’s announcement that it will begin issuing immunity cards functioning as passports in the country, giving them permission to clear airport security, among other permissions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Officials across the US and in France and the UK have floated similar concepts, which presume that a person can only contract the virus once before developing antibodies to ward off another infection.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

But WHO reports that “no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies [for Covid-19] confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          supports current antibody testing “at the population level or in specific groups, such as health workers, close contacts of known cases, or within households “as they are” critical for understanding the extent of – and risk factors associated with – infection. ”                                                                                                                                                                                                      

But most of those studies “are not designed to determine whether those people are immune to secondary infections”, the report says.