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In
a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments
against issuing "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates"
to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be
guaranteed.
The practice could actually increase the risks of continued
spread as people who have recovered may ignore advice about
taking standard precautions against the virus, it said.
"Some governments have suggested that the detection of
antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,
could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or
'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel
or to return to work assuming that they are protected against
re-infection," the WHO said.
"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered
from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second
infection," it said.
Chile said last week 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.
The WHO said it continued to review the evidence on antibody
responses to the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese
city of Wuhan late last year. Some 2.8 million people have been
reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and
196,298 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from
infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. However,
some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in
their blood, "suggesting that cellular immunity may also be
critical for recovery", it added.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Louise Heavens and
Helen Popper)
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