United Kingdom considering 'Immunity certificates' to allow early coronavirus lockdown release
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Apr 4, 2020
Hancock announced the U.K.is also looking at introducing certificates for people who have had the coronavirus and are thus immune from infection as a way of potentially easing social-distancing measures - though he warned that the science of coronavirus immunity is still in its infancy.
Speaking on behalf of biomedical scientists and laboratory staff of the NHS, the institute said: "The UK has numerous high-quality accredited laboratories with suitable equipment, with the capability to test over 100,000 tests per day, set up and ready to meet testing targets - we just need a reliable supply of test kits, plastics and reagents".
England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said the next round of clinical trials should include new medicines, including those that might be in development for other diseases and might "have a role to play".
NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.
Gerard Krause, the epidemiologist leading the project, told the magazine that people who are immune "could be given a type of vaccination card that, for example, allows them to be exempted" from "restrictions on their work".
Quite simply - we are ready, but you need to give us what we need.
In a video message late Wednesday, Johnson appeared to acknowledge the severity of the situation - as well as the political reality that unfavorable comparisons with other nations are unlikely to go away unless United Kingdom capacity is increased.
You can use your garden, if you have one. "Here, these are about patients undergoing treatment at some stage for COVID-19".
"For health service workers in the very particular instance of 'are you safe to go back to work?' it might be useful". I'm delighted to be back, in the past week we have built a hospital in nine days and there is more to come...
Only individuals that have been infected with COVID-19 are being asked to take part in these trials.
"One of the trials, which is called recovery, and deals in hospital care, is the largest of its kind in the world, with 926 patients involved".
"We need more patients to volunteer to be part of these trials because the bigger the trials, the better the data and the faster we can roll out the treatments, if - and only if -it's proven to work". It's a process of very informed, written consent for that to happen. "They don't let the ministers get on with their jobs... the people in charge are woefully unqualified to get us through this".
A similar model is already planned in Germany and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would "consider" implementing the certificates if they proved effective in other countries.
