No evidence that recovered Covid-19 patients are immune to re-infection, says Health DG

PETALING JAYA: Patients who have recovered from Covid-19 will have to go through follow-up treatment every three months as there is no evidence to suggest that the presence of antibodies could serve as an "immunity passport", says Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said currently, the ministry is conducting short-term and long-term studies on those who have been allowed to return home based on various categories.

"We want to know whether there is any damage to the lungs. We will do a follow-up treatment every three months to check whether there are any changes in their lungs through scanning," he said at the ministry’s Covid-19 press conference here on Friday (June 26).

The ministry also wants to study the presence of antibodies of those who have been discharged.

"If we look at other studies, and not ours, it (the antibodies) will not remain long.

"We were informed that the antibodies will reduce and do not last after eight weeks," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had also pointed that patients who had recovered from Covid-19 were not necessarily immune due to the presence of antibodies.

He said the antibodies would not necessarily protect them from secondary infection.

"This is because there are not enough antibodies to protect them from being re-infected and that means there is no immunity passport to create a herd immunity within our community," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said before patients are discharged, they would be given counselling on how to avoid being re-infected.

In a scientific brief published, WHO had said that there was no evidence yet that people who have had Covid-19 would not get a second infection.

The global health body also cautioned against governments around the world that were considering issuing so-called "immunity passports" to people who had recovered from Covid-19.