Coronavirus: Immunity passports ‘could increase virus spread’

Governments should not provide so-called “resistance passports” or “risk-free certificates” as a way of alleviating lockdowns, the World Health Organization (WHO) states.

It stated there was “no proof” that individuals who had developed antibodies after recuperating from the virus were secured against a second infection.

Such a move could in fact increase virus transmission, it warned.

Individuals who assumed they were immune may stop taking preventative measures, it said.

Some governments have considered allowing people who have recuperated to take a trip or return to work.

Limitations imposed on movement to stop the virus dispersing have paralyzed economies around the world.

More than 2.8 m cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide and nearly 200,000 individuals have actually died.

What did the WHO state?

” There is currently no proof that people who have actually recovered from Covid-19 and have actually antibodies are safeguarded from a second infection,” the WHO said in an instruction note.

Many research studies performed up until now revealed that people who had recuperated from infection had antibodies in their blood – however a few of these individuals had extremely low levels of antibodies.

This recommended that another part of the body’s immune reaction – T-cells, which eliminate contaminated cells – might also be “important” for healing.

As of Friday no research study had assessed whether the presence of antibodies to the virus provided resistance to subsequent infection by the virus in human beings, the WHO stated.

” At this moment in the pandemic, there is inadequate proof about the efficiency of antibody-mediated resistance to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘safe certificate’,” it said.

The organisation also said lab tests to detect antibodies required even more validation to identify their precision and also needed to compare previous infection by the SARS-CoV-2 infection – which has actually caused the pandemic – and the 6 other recognized coronaviruses in blood circulation.

Passports too risky – in the meantime

Analysis by Rachel Schraer, BBC health reporter

The WHO’s guidance is based upon proof from researchers all around the world. It could well alter as we quickly find out more about this infection.

There isn’t presently any proof to suggest having had the infection when secures you from getting it once again. So the concept of an “resistance passport”, enabling people who test positive for antibodies to have less constraints, would be a really risky one.

Numerous countries consisting of Germany, Italy and the UK are starting to check samples of their populations for antibodies. In the UK, 25,000 people will be checked every month for the next year – both for antibodies, and to inspect if they presently have the infection.

This could offer more info about whether (and for the length of time) the illness gives resistance to those who have recuperated. Which would offer us a clearer idea about whether testing individuals and giving them some type of immunity status may be an alternative in the future.

Where are ‘resistance passports’ being considered?

Last week Chile stated it would start providing “health passports” to people deemed to have recuperated from the health problem.

Once screened for the presence of antibodies to make them unsusceptible to the virus, they might rejoin the labor force, authorities stated.

In Sweden, which has actually selected to keep big parts of society open, some researchers believe people may end up with much higher resistance levels compared with those living under stricter regulations.