Chile's top health official flaunts WHO guidance, says recovered COVID-19 patients immune

[webfact]

Chile's top health official flaunts WHO guidance, says recovered COVID-19 patients immune

By Dave Sherwood and Stephanie Nebehay

 

 

SANTIAGO/GENEVA (Reuters) - Chile's top health official said on Monday that a patient recovered from COVID-19 had little chance of contracting the disease again for least three months, flaunting guidance from World Health Organization scientists who warn of scant evidence for such claims.

 

Chile is preparing this week to roll out some of the world´s first "release certificates" for recovered patients. Health officials say they are not "immunity cards" but have previously suggested they will indicate some degree of resistance to the disease.

 

Health minister Jaime Manalich said he and U.N. health agency officials had met and agreed there was no way to guarantee immunity. But he cited data from China and South Korea that point to shorter-term protection for those who survive the disease.

 

"The probability that a person becomes ill again, or that someone else becomes ill, becomes very remote. How long? A minimum of three months," Manalich told reporters at a daily briefing.

 

Manalich, a kidney specialist who once ran one of Chile´s top hospitals, said the certificates Chile planned to issue would follow antibody tests and at least help identify those who have already had the disease.

 

The World Health Organization said last week there was no evidence to support any claims of immunity and warned against giving false hope to survivors or those who come in contact with them.

 

Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO´s top emergencies expert, reiterated those concerns in Geneva on Monday, saying it was easier to prove that someone had the disease than to show they were immune.

 

"The scientific question is, ´To what extent does having had that infection offer you protection against another infection?'" Ryan said. "That is the question that still needs to be addressed."

 

Ryan said scientists expect antibodies to lend some protection. But he said it was not yet clear how long that immunity might last, or to what extent it might protect a recovered patient from contracting the disease again.

 

Chile has yet to say what guarantees the certificates might offer to those who possess them, or when they might expire.

 

A spokeswoman for the Health Ministry declined to give more details.

 

Chile has been widely praised for its approach to combating the coronavirus, including widespread testing, flexible region-specific quarantines and quick action to secure additional ventilators.

 

The country has confirmed nearly 14,000 cases of the viral infection since the outbreak began in early March, and 198 deaths.

 

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Dan Grebler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[Logosone]

The WHO is becoming hyper careful. Because they made a few mistakes.

 

Chile is right of course, the risk of re-infection has to be small, even if the ultimate proof of immunity is still to be evidenced.

[sprq]

That should be "flouts", not "flaunts"!! Dear me, Reuters!

[ukrules]

I think the WHO are trying to avoid endorsing a situation where people are locked in for a year unless they have a certificate saying they've had the disease and are as close to 'immune' as possible.

 

I think this could cause some weird situations where people might be locked in their homes and only the immune are allowed to go out. I guess the WHO will want to avoid people becoming infected to gain immunity and the freedom of movement. Just my hunch.

 

Meanwhile in the rest of the world they're very busy creating vaccines which work by creating antibodies.

 

If antibodies don't work after recovery from the real thing then a vaccine is pointless because the vaccine creates antibodies and probably less of them (see the link about H1N1) than a real and natural infection would based on what I've read.

 

Here's a long, boring but interesting link for those inclined to read about antibody titer levels compared between 'natural infection'  and vaccination, it's based on pandemic H1N1 flu : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122523/

 

In the above example people had more antibodies from natural infection than they did when compared to vaccination.

 

Tens of millions of people will have had this COVID, perhaps more and most of them will have antibodies already. It will be interesting to find out how long they stick around.

 

[tyga]

8 hours ago, Logosone said:

The WHO is becoming hyper careful. Because they made a few mistakes.

 

Chile is right of course, the risk of re-infection has to be small, even if the ultimate proof of immunity is still to be evidenced.

Sorry, but how would you know Chile is right? Most experts say we don't know so does Chile know something and if so, lets see the evidence!

[Krataiboy]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

I think the WHO are trying to avoid endorsing a situation where people are locked in for a year unless they have a certificate saying they've had the disease and are as close to 'immune' as possible.

And I think we should stop thinking like "they" want us to think. Otherise, our forebears who fought facism died for nothing.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Krataiboy

[sirineou]

12 hours ago, sprq said:

That should be "flouts", not "flaunts"!! Dear me, Reuters!

Since they are in defiance the flaunt 

flaunt

verb

3rd person present: flaunts

1. display (something) ostentatiously, especially in order to provoke envy or admiration or to show defiance

[Stargeezr]

Do not forget that some posters on the forum are, experts in their minds, and they just tolerate

actual dotors, and medial specialists.  Chile may get a big second wave , that even some

experts here do not think exists  Good luck

Geezer