WHO Warns as No Evidence that Recovered Coronavirus Patients Cannot be Reinfected

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently "no evidence" that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection.

In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates" to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.

The training could really build the dangers of proceeded with spread as individuals who have recouped may overlook guidance about avoiding potential risk against the infection, it said. 

"A few governments have recommended that the location of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the infection that causes COVID-19, could fill in as the reason for an 'invulnerability identification' or 'hazard free declaration' that would empower people to head out or to come back to work expecting that they are ensured against re-contamination," the WHO



said. 

"There is at present no proof that individuals who have recouped from COVID-19 and have antibodies are shielded from a subsequent disease," it said.

Chile said last week it would begin handing out "health passports" to people deemed to have recovered from the illness. Once screened to determine if they have developed antibodies to make them immune to the virus, they could immediately rejoin the workforce.

The WHO said it continued to review the evidence on antibody responses to the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Some 2.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 196,298 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. However, some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, "suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery", it added.