Our Reporter
THE World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there is “currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.”
There have been speculations that people who survive an infection may develop antibodies that can attack the virus and prevent reinfection.
The organization, in a statement, warned against issuing ‘immunity passports’ or ‘risk-free certificates’ to people who have been infected, saying the practice may actually increase the risk of spread as they may ignore standard advice.
Chile, penultimate last week, said 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.
Read Also: COVID-19 cases rise to 28,000 in Africa – WHO
Antibodies are proteins in the blood which reveal if someone has already fought off an infection, including the deadly coronavirus.
The United Nations agency explained that while most people appear to have produced antibodies to the Covid-19 virus in their recovery, it is not known if the presence of these antibodies in the blood is enough to stop a second infection.
It said: “At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’.
Leave a Reply