In all countries, the focus is now on laboratory detection of antibodies to the coronavirus. The World Health Organization has warned that countries should not issue safety certificates or immune passports to people who have recovered from Covid-19. According to the WHO, there is currently no convincing data to suggest that a person who has previously overcome the coronavirus and developed antibodies cannot be re-infected.
Currently, authorities in several countries are considering the possibility of allowing people who have recovered from Covid-19 to return to work and use public transportation. However, the WHO is concerned that such a move could actually increase the number of infected people, as people who believe they already have the virus will stop taking precautions.
More than 2.8 million cases of coronavirus infection have been reported worldwide, with approximately 200,000 deaths. Strict quarantine measures have already caused unprecedented damage to the global economy. “At present, there is no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from subsequent infection,” according to the WHO news release.
Sweden is one of the countries that did not impose a strict quarantine. Most studies on this topic show that people who have had a recent coronavirus infection have antibodies in their blood. However, in some cases, the level of these antibodies is very low. This suggests that in the case of Covid-19, a second mechanism of the body’s defense may be critical for recovery: T cells (T lymphocytes), which regulate cellular immunity and destroy mutated or foreign cells. As of April 24, no study has concluded whether the presence of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in a person’s blood confers immunity to subsequent infection, according to WHO.
“At the current stage of pandemic development, we do not have enough data on the efficacy of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of issuing an immunity passport or “certificate of safety,” the WHO says. As noted by the WHO, there is a need to ensure the accuracy of laboratory tests currently used to detect antibodies. In addition, such tests should distinguish between the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the current pandemic and six other known coronaviruses.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes End of story podcast advertisement Last week, Chilean authorities announced that they would begin issuing “health status passports” to those believed to have recovered from Covid-19. If antibodies are detected in their blood, they will be allowed to return to work.
In Sweden, where strict quarantine has not been implemented, some medical experts believe that the population may develop a much stronger immunity to the new coronavirus than in countries where strict quarantine has been implemented. However, as Anders Wallensteyn of the Swedish National Board of Health admitted in an interview with the BBC, not enough is known. “We will learn more as more people are tested for antibodies, and over time it will become clearer whether there are cases of reinfection,” he said.
Belgium, despite having one of the highest per capita coronavirus mortality rates in the world, plans to gradually ease quarantine measures beginning May 11. However, after consulting the Belgian government, virologist Professor Mark Van Ranst told the BBC: “I am strongly against the idea of giving people different passports – red or green – depending on their laboratory analysis.” “This will lead to counterfeiting, this will lead to people deliberately infecting themselves with this virus. This is not a good idea, this is an extremely harmful idea,” says Professor Van Rast.
Earlier this week, Professor Mala Maini of University College London (UCL) highlighted the need to develop a reliable antibody assay as soon as possible that would allow us to understand how long they are present in the human body and whether they can protect against re-infection. “We still don’t know for sure whether these antibodies have protective properties against SARS-CoV-2, but preliminary data suggest that they may provide some protection, so their presence can be considered a signal to end quarantine,” she said.
BBC health correspondent Rachel Schraer: The WHO recommendations are based on data collected from doctors around the world. However, these recommendations may change as more is learned about this new virus. Since there is no certainty that the presence of antibodies provides protection against reinfection with a coronavirus infection, the idea of issuing immunity passports seems risky.
Many countries, including Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, are now beginning mass testing of their populations to detect antibodies to the coronavirus. In the UK, 25,000 people will be tested monthly over the next year – both to detect antibodies and to see if they are carriers of the virus at that time. This can provide some information about whether a person develops immunity after receiving Covid-19 and for how long. And then it will be clearer whether it is worthwhile to test for the presence of antibodies in the future and to issue an immunity passport based on this.