(Bloomberg) – Sweden’s highest health authority says people who have had the new coronavirus are likely to be immune for at least six months after infection, whether they have developed antibodies or not.
© Bloomberg
Pedestrians walk near the port in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday May 22, 2020. Sweden, which has refused to close schools and restaurants to contain the new coronavirus, is being closely watched as many other countries are gradually opening up their economies. . tighter locks.
In a new guide published Tuesday, the Swedish Public Health Agency said it is now considered safe for infected people to come into contact with people from high-risk groups.
Loading error
“We don’t see cases of people sick twice from Covid-19,” said state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell during a press conference in Stockholm. “Therefore, our assessment is that if you get Covid-19 you are immune, even if you don’t develop antibodies.”
But the agency also said that people who consider themselves immune can still act as carriers of the virus in society and therefore should continue to observe patterns of distancing and social hygiene.
The antibody response to Covid-19 is being closely studied by scientists around the world for indications of the duration of immunity. While there is little evidence to suggest that reinfections are occurring, health experts have yet to pinpoint exactly how long the immunity could last.
A recent study from King’s College London showed that the level of antibodies can drop to a degree that makes them undetectable just three months after infection. However, the body also mounts other forms of immunity responses, including so-called T cells, which appear to play an important role in protecting against reinfection with Covid-19.
Research from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has indicated that approximately twice as many people infected with Covid-19 have developed a T-cell mediated immunity response as those with a detectable level of antibodies.
“The risk of re-infection and passing the disease on to others is probably very close to zero,” said Tegnell. “Therefore, we believe that you can meet other people, even if they are in a high-risk group.”
A vaccine
Tegnell said he expects a vaccine to be ready for distribution in Sweden “sometime in the first half of 2021,” barring setbacks in the development process.
AstraZeneca Plc has signed an agreement to supply up to 400 million doses to European countries since the end of 2020. The company’s joint efforts with the University of Oxford to develop a vaccine showed promising results this week. But Tegnell said “anything else would have been a disaster for AstraZeneca.”
Oxford vaccine shows early promise but market is not convinced
Tegnell remains a controversial figure for his decision to discourage the imposition of a proper blockade in Sweden. Currently, the country has one of the highest death rates in the world, measured per 100,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
But there are also indications that the contagion rate in Sweden is slowing down, and Tegnell insists that his strategy will finally be successful. This is how he is attacked by academics and scientists in his own country, who say he has mishandled the crisis.
Swedish Prime Minister defends Covid plan while immunity is not up to date
What the CDC says about immunity
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that people who have recovered from Covid-19 follow quarantine recommendations if they identify themselves as a contact for a new case more than 3 months after the onset of the disease.
Tegnell said Tuesday that Sweden “probably” has achieved a fairly high immunity rate, which he says will protect his country from further outbreaks.
“The result is that the epidemic is now slowing dramatically, in a way that I think few of us would have thought a few weeks ago,” he said. “I am very happy about that. It facilitates health care services and we have fewer deaths.”
(Adds Tegnell’s comments on a vaccine)
For more items like this, visit us at bloomberg.com
© 2020 Bloomberg LP
Video: UCHealth needs samples to find out why some are more susceptible to coronavirus (CBS Denver)
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Keep reading
