Recovering from Covid-19 not an immune passport: DAK

Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Sunday said that the response towards COVID-19 in Jammu and Kashmir is appropriate and the healthcare workers are combating the deadly virus with optimal use of limited resources.
President DAK, Dr Suhail Naik said that different studies carried out across world have revealed that a large chunk of symptomatic patients don’t mount significant antibody responses to Covid-19 infection at this point in the pandemic.
According to statement issued to KNS, referring to a statement of World Health Organisation (WHO)Dr Naik said that though most of these studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus.
However, some of these people have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery.
“Therefore recovering from Covid-19 infection is no way a “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate” that a patient can’t get second infection and ignore public health advice,” he said.
Dr Naik, who is a consultant paediatrician said that advocating use of such certificates to allow such persons to lower the guard of public health measures may, therefore, increase the risks of continued transmission.
He advised recovered patients to follow all the public health measures of hand washing, social distancing, mask for all and learn cough sneezing etiquette religiously.
DAK appealed people that without their active participation it is not easy to win this war against the novel coronavirus, describing it an invisible enemy.
“People are advised to strictly follow the health advisories and lockdown. It is very imperative for people living in “red zones” to strictly follow the guidelines in order to curtail the lethal virus,” DAK said.(KNS)