‘No evidence’ recovered coronavirus patients are safe from getting it again, WHO warns

While the world waits for a coronavirus vaccine, many nations are banking on a certain degree of natural “herd immunity” to return to relative normalcy.

But according to the World Health Organization, it might not be that easy.

“There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” the WHO said in a statement Friday.

The statement comes after some in China, where the outbreak originated, were diagnosed with coronavirus for a second time after appearing to recover from the highly contagious virus once before, McClatchy News reported in mid-March.

In those cases, researchers said “the second diagnosis was more likely due to testing errors and not reinfection.”

However, both Japan and Korea have also reported cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 after seemingly recovering from the virus, Bloomberg and The Hill reported.

“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told Bloomberg. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.”

Leaders and health officials have touted the importance of wide scale blood-testing for coronavirus antibodies as the U.S. attempts to reopen the economy — testing that may prove pointless if it turns out antibodies developed during infection don’t actually grant any degree of immunity.

The White House coronavirus response team had even discussed implementing “coronavirus immunity certificates” to identify those who can safely reenter society after contracting the coronavirus, according to McClatchy News.

Germany and the UK are considering similar measures, Politico reported, though the WHO is cautioning against them.

“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,’” the organization said, adding that such a system might also encourage people deemed safe to ignore health advice, putting their lives and others at risk.

This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 12:55 PM with the headline "‘No evidence’ recovered coronavirus patients are safe from getting it again, WHO warns."