No evidence shows antibody tests can determine immunity: WHO
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The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Friday there is no evidence to suggest the presence of antibodies in blood can determine whether someone has long-term immunity against COVID-19.

“No one can make sure that people with antibodies are adequately protected from further illness or exposure to the virus. Apart from that, some tests still exist some sensitivity problems which may give false negative results.” said, Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO's executive director for health emergencies at a press conference.

He stressed that there was no indication so far that a large portion of the population had developed immunity.

As well, the increasing number of recovered coronavirus patients who have retested positive for the virus has raised concerns about how antibodies work in response to the coronavirus.

While scientists said there is no evidence yet that a person who has retested positive can spread the virus further, there hasn’t been any conclusive studies to rule that out, said the WHO official.

 “The answer to the question of whether people meet reinfection after recovery is an unknown number yet”, he added.

(Compiled by Wu Qingyang)