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SANTIAGO / GENEVA (Reuters) – Chile’s top health official said Monday that a patient recovered from COVID-19 had little chance of contracting the disease again for at least three months, flaunting the guidance of the Organization’s scientists. World Health that warn about the scant evidence of such claims. .
FILE PHOTO: A worker using protective waves for a woman while using disinfectant to clean outside the residences after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Santiago, Chile, April 15, 2020. REUTERS / Ivan Alvarado
Chile is preparing this week to launch some of the world’s first “certificates of release” for recovered patients. Health officials say they are not “immunity cards,” but have previously suggested that they will indicate some degree of resistance to the disease.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich said he and officials from the UN health agency had met and agreed that there was no way to guarantee immunity. But he cited data from China and South Korea that point to short-term protection for those who survive the disease.
“The probability that a person will become ill again, or that another person will become ill, becomes very remote. How long? At least three months, ”Manalich told reporters in a daily briefing.
Manalich, a kidney specialist who once ran one of Chile’s best hospitals, said the certificates Chile was planning 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 that 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 chief emergency expert, reiterated those concerns in Geneva on Monday, saying it was easier to prove that someone had the disease than to prove that they were immune.
“The scientific question is:” To what extent has having this infection offered you protection against another infection? “Ryan said.” That’s the question that still needs to be addressed. ”
Ryan said scientists hope the antibodies provide some protection. But he said it was not yet clear how long that immunity could last, or to what extent it could protect a recovered patient from contracting the disease again.
Chile has yet to say what guarantees the certificates can offer to those who possess them, or when they can expire.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health declined to give further details.
Chile has been widely praised for its approach to fighting the coronavirus, which includes widespread testing, flexible quarantines for specific regions, and rapid action to secure additional ventilators.
The country has confirmed nearly 14,000 cases of viral infection since the outbreak began in early March and 198 deaths.
Reports by Dave Sherwood and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Dan Grebler
