{"id":159204,"date":"2020-04-27T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T11:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=159204"},"modified":"2020-12-02T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T10:12:45","slug":"no-evidence-that-recovered-covid-19-patients-cannot-be-reinfected-says-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/04\/no-evidence-that-recovered-covid-19-patients-cannot-be-reinfected-says-who\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No Evidence\u2019 That Recovered COVID-19 Patients Cannot Be Reinfected, Says WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"field field-name-field-news-story-lead field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<blockquote><p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/un-news-logo-e1568706362531.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-109474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/un-news-logo-e1568706362531.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraphs-items paragraphs-items-field-news-story paragraphs-items-field-news-story-full paragraphs-items-full\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-news-story field-type-paragraphs field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"entity entity-paragraphs-item paragraphs-item-one-column-text\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-text-column field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>25 Apr 2020 &#8211; <\/em>In a scientific brief issued yesterday, the UN health agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/commentaries\/detail\/immunity-passports-in-the-context-of-covid-19\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> there was no proof that one-time infection could lead to immunity, and \u201claboratory tests that detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/coronavirus\" class=\"word-link\" title=\"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-19<\/a>] in people&#8230;<a href=\"https:\/\/\/C:\/Users\/Victor.Evans-Harvey\/Downloads\/WHO-2019-nCoV-Sci_Brief-Immunity_passport-2020.1-eng.pdf\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> need further validation<\/a> to determine their accuracy and reliability.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Earlier today we tweeted about a new WHO scientific brief on &quot;immunity passports&quot;. The thread caused some concern &amp; we would like to clarify:<\/p>\n<p>We expect that most people who are infected with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >#COVID19<\/a> will develop an antibody response that will provide some level of protection. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AmxvQQLTjM\" >pic.twitter.com\/AmxvQQLTjM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHO\/status\/1254160937805926405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >April 25, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an &#8216;immunity passport&#8217; or &#8216;risk-free certificate&#8217; that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/en\/\" class=\"word-link\" title=\"World Health Organization\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WHO<\/a>, adding: \u201cThere is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As part of its guidance on adjusting public health and social measures for the next phase of the COVID-19 response, WHO stressed that it continues to review the evidence on antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/p>\n<p>The new guidance comes amid media reports that some countries have announced their intention to issue so-called \u201cimmunity cards\u201d that would allow individual travel, based on the assumption that a person infected with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/coronavirus\" class=\"word-link\" title=\"Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coronavirus<\/a> could not be infected a second time.<\/p>\n<p>While most of the relevant studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, WHO noted that as of yesterday, \u201cno study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an &#8216;immunity passport&#8217; or &#8216;risk-free certificate,&#8217;\u201d the WHO warned.<\/p>\n<p>WHO said: \u201cPeople 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The agency later clarified in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WHO\/status\/1254160940020498435\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweet<\/a> that it expects that most people who are infected with COVID-19 will develop an antibody response that will provide some level of protection. \u201cWhat we don&#8217;t yet know is the level of protection or how long it will last. We are working with scientists around the world to better understand the body&#8217;s response to COVID-19 infection.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Landmark collaboration\u2019 on COVID-19 testing and treatment<\/h3>\n<p>The UN health agency\u2019s new guidance comes after world leaders, scientists, humanitarians and private sector partners came together on Friday in \u201ca landmark collaboration\u201d to make new tools and medicines to diagnose and treat COVID-19, accessible to people everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>The virtual launch of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, saw participation from all corners of the planet to boost commitment and support for the production of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to save lives from an unprecedented enemy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA world free of COVID-19 requires the most massive public health effort in global history,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\/content\/sg\/speeches\/2020-04-24\/statement-of-commitment-and-call-for-support-for-the-global-collaboration-accelerate-the-development-production-and-equitable-access-new-covid-19-tools\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> UN Secretary-General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a>, speaking from New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cData must be shared, production capacity prepared, resources mobilized, communities engaged, and politics set aside. I know we can do it. I know we can put people first\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019 and was declared a global pandemic three months later. So far, there have been more than 2.6 million cases worldwide, and nearly 182,000 deaths, according to WHO.<\/p>\n<p>The health crisis has also affected everything from the global economy, to education, employment and travel.<\/p>\n<p>Since January, the agency has been working with thousands of researchers across the globe to accelerate and track development of a vaccine against the disease.<\/p>\n<p>WHO has also developed diagnostics which are being used by several countries and is currently coordinating a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2020\/03\/1059722\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">solidarity<\/a>\u201d clinical trial of four therapeutics to treat the virus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world needs these tools, and it needs them fast,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/dg\/speeches\/detail\/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-launch-of-the-access-to-covid-19-tools-accelerator\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> WHO chief Tedr<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/dg\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">os Adhanom Ghebreyesus<\/a>, one of the co-hosts of Friday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2020\/04\/1062612\" >Go to Original &#8211; news.un.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>25 Apr 2020 &#8211; The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":159082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2236],"tags":[271,1879,1829,1868,289,744,1698,710,1864,1102,304,1447,1880,339,124,1836,75],"class_list":["post-159204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid19-coronavirus","tag-community","tag-compassion","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-economy","tag-empathy","tag-epidemics","tag-health","tag-pandemic","tag-public-health","tag-science","tag-science-and-medicine","tag-sharing","tag-trade","tag-united-nations","tag-who","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}