Still Much To Learn About Immunity From COVID-19, Scientists Warn
Questions linger about whether herd immunity, antibody tests actually make a difference in the spread of coronavirus. Experts say you shouldn't let your guard down even if you've tested positive.
Stat:
Coronavirus Immunity Is A Mystery. Scientists Are Trying To Crack The Case
Scientists stress that just because someone has recovered from Covid-19 and produced antibodies to the coronavirus does not mean they are protected from contracting it a second time. No one’s yet proven that. That, then, leaves open the question: What does immunity look like? (Joseph, 6/11)
The Associated Press:
What Is Herd Immunity And Could It Work With COVID-19?
What is herd immunity and could it work with COVID-19? Herd immunity is when a virus can no longer spread easily because enough people are immune to it. That lowers the chances of the virus jumping from person to person and reaching those who haven’t been infected yet. People can become immune to certain viruses after surviving infection or being vaccinated. (6/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Tested Positive For Coronavirus Antibodies? Don’t Let Your Guard Down
After a rocky rollout, higher-quality coronavirus antibody tests have emerged that, among other uses, are beginning to give a clearer picture of the pathogen’s spread. But for people who are simply curious about whether they’ve unknowingly been infected, some doctors and public-health authorities are still hesitant to recommend antibody tests. The reliability of these tests for any one person, they say, comes down to a matter of probability: As with most other medical tests, that depends not only on a test’s quality but also on a disease’s prevalence within a community. (Abbott, Wang and Roland, 6/10)
