Roche CEO says it is 'very likely' people develop immunity after recovering from coronavirus

[Celerity]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/04/roche-ceo-very-likely-coronavirus-patients-develop-immunity.html

People who have recovered from Covid-19 are “very likely” to be immune to the virus, according to the CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche. CEO Severin Schwan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday he believes those who had already had the coronavirus would now be immune to the illness — but he pointed out that more research was required.

“We know from other coronaviruses that it’s very likely as soon as you have gone through an infection you will also acquire immunity,” he said. “But this still, nevertheless, has to be proven over time. We need studies to really see whether those people who have been infected once are subject to reinfection. But there’s a high likelihood that this will be the case.”

Schwan’s take on immunity to Covid-19 came after South Korean scientists concluded it was impossible for the virus to reinfect humans.

There had been concern that people were appearing to fall ill with the coronavirus a second time in Japan, China and South Korea — but researchers from the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that this phenomenon had resulted from testing failures.

snip

[Voltaire2]

1. WHO and CDC aren't convinced.

So I'll wait for what experts who do not have a vested financial interest in the issue to weigh in on how Covid-19 immunity works.

[Celerity]

2. Fair enough, South Korea has been saying the same thing for 5 days now, and I think this will quite

likely become the general consensus.

[Loki Liesmith]

3. It is quite likely though

Convinced and quite likely are not orthogonal positions.

[Igel]

4. You have to watch competing levels of convincing.

On 1/19, the CDC and WHO still weren't convinced that easy person-to-person transmission was easy.

It was in mid-February when the CDC was still not convinced that community transmission was happening in the US, except in rare, isolated incidents.

It was in late February when the CDC and others still weren't convinced that asymptomatic people could still be infected.

At some point "likely" is enough for action, esp. when there are calls for action based upon "it's possible."

[BGBD]

6. CDC

is still part of a compromised federal apparatus.

As long as Trump is in change the entire thing is rotten, regardless of how good any individual people within may be.

[snort]

7. What you said.

[Voltaire2]

11. agreed.

[Yavin4]

5. "We need studies to really see whether those people who have been infected once...

...are subject to reinfection."

That's the most important point.

[Wounded Bear]

9. Yeah, sounds like some happy talk...

from someone trying to fast track an untested vaccine.

[ecstatic]

8. Isn't there a conflict of interest present...?

Roche---the same company making antibody tests?

[Celerity]

10. using that definition any drug company would have a conflict of interest when it comes

to testing, vaccines, mitigation drugs, etc.

They are not going to open themselves up to potential billions in lawsuits. He also hedged his bets through carefully worded statements, and was commenting on the South Korea developments (ie not a private drug firm.)

[Voltaire2]

12. yes they do which is why we use regulated evidence based testing to determine

what works and what doesn't work, and not the opinions of billionaires intrested in acquiring more billions.

[meadowlander]

13. That's why I don't take medical advice from drug companies, I take it from independant doctors.

Roche is qualified to comment on whether or not their antibody test detects antibodies not whether or not people can be reinfected with Covid-19 or how long immunity lasts or whether or not their test could reliably used for a "Covid passport" to allow people to get back to their normal life. That's what we have government for.

Of course they are going to say that their anti-body test is the miracle remedy for all our social and economic woes. It's in their financial interest to say that.