Coronavirus immunity ‘could last six months’, claims epidemiologist
People who have recovered from coronavirus could have immunity for up to six months, Sweden’s top epidemiologist has said.
Dr Anders Tegnell, who implemented the country’s controversial ‘herd immunity’ tactic, said that so far there have been no reported cases of people falling ill with Covid-19 twice, reported The Telegraph.
Speaking at a press conference in Stockholm on Tuesday, Dr Tegnell said that his team has now concluded that people are likely to be immune for half a year – regardless of whether antibodies show up in their system or not.
‘Hence our assessment is that if you do get Covid-19 you are immune, even if you don’t develop antibodies,’ said Dr Tegnell.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency has issued new guidance stating that it is safe for people who have recovered from the virus to come into contact with others in high risk groups, as long as they adhere to social distancing rules.
Sweden attracted worldwide attention for choosing not to impose strict lockdown measures and instead asked the public to stay at home if they were unwell and to practice social distancing in public. When cases peaked, bars, restaurants and shops remained open.
Sweden has seen around 78,000 positive cases and 5,600 confirmed deaths – much higher figures than neighbouring Denmark which has seen 600 deaths and a total of 13,000 positive cases.
Dr Tegnell’s comments are likely to cause controversy, as scientists and health officials have been hesitant to give concrete statements on immunity while research is still at an early stage.
However, researchers at King’s College London suggested that Covid-19 immunity may only last a few months and the virus could be caught again.
Only 17% of patients who took part in the trial had the same level of potency of virus antibodies three months later, suggesting recovered patients could be susceptible to reinfection year after year, similar to a common cold.
A recent study also found that testing T-cells could be a more accurate way to analyse a patient’s antibody response to coronavirus. So far, scientists have been using antibody tests.
Dr Tegnell also said yesterday that they expect at least another 3,000 coronavirus-related fatalities but in the worst-case scenario, there could be a further 5,800.
However, he insisted that Sweden’s strategy ‘is working’ and that it is continuing to see the positive trend of a ‘fairly quick decline in cases’.
Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) included Sweden in a list of 11 European countries going through a ‘very significant resurgence’ of coronavirus – something health officials strongly denied.
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