Chris Cuomo announces that he is free of the coronavirus

CNN’s Chris Cuomo announced Monday night that he is now coronavirus-free just one month after becoming infected with the illness. 

‘So, I tested negative. I don’t have the virus,’ Cuomo said during his prime time show. 

‘Good for me. I also tested to show that I have both antibodies,’ Cuomo said, referring to short-term and long-term antibodies. 

But the TV host questioned if he actually has some protection against the virus: ‘Here’s the new thing, do I really have great news? What does it mean that I have antibodies? Am I really immune? Do they know?’ 

CNN’s Chris Cuomo announced Monday night that he is now coronavirus-free just one month after becoming infected with the illness

.@ChrisCuomo gives an update on his own recovery from coronavirus, reporting that he has two key antibodies but there remains uncertainty on whether or not the provide protection against future reinfection. pic.twitter.com/kTnA4BlCZh

— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) April 28, 2020

Cuomo then turned to CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, for answers. 

‘Presumably, you’re going to have some protection against this,’ Gupta said. ‘I think that’s what most virologists will say.’

‘The thing is that we need to prove it out and that takes some time to actually show that these antibodies are actually going to protect you,’ Gupta told Cuomo. 

Gupta then explained that the antibodies are placed in a test tube with some of the virus to determine if the antibodies ‘neutralize the virus’.

‘It’s the neutralizing activity of the antibodies that you’re really looking for. Presumably there should be some neutralizing activity, but it may be different person-to-person.’

Gupta pointed out that people who have been significantly ill may have antibodies with more neutralizing activity compared to those individuals who had milder symptoms. 

Cuomo is not the only one in his family who contracted the virus. His wife, Cristina, tested positive for the virus and most recently his 14-year-old son, Mario. 

It’s unclear if the couple’s other two children, Bella, 17, and 11-year-old Carolina, are showing symptoms. 

Cuomo then turned to CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, for answers. ‘Presumably, you’re going to have some protection against this,’ Gupta said. ‘I think that’s what most virologists will say’

Toward the end of Cuomo’s segment with Gupta, the host said: ‘Here’s what I know. If they want my blood, and I’m being told they do next week, I have never given blood in my life and we both know why: It’s because I’m a wuss.

‘But I am going to do it, although the likelihood I faint is like, 110%. But I’m going to do it, I’m going to shoot it. If they want the blood, I’m going to give it to them because that is the best thing I’ve heard of so far in terms of what I can do to help as someone who was sick.’ 

Gupta assured Cuomo that he would be helping at least four people fight the virus if he donated blood. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned over the weekend that recovering from the coronavirus may not protect people from reinfection.

‘There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from #COVID19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,’ WHO officials said in a statement on Saturday. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned over the weekend that recovering from the coronavirus may not protect people from reinfection (antibody testing seen in Massachusetts)

‘People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice,’ it said. 

The warning came as some governments study measures such as ‘immunity passports’ or documents for those who have recovered as one way to get people back to work after weeks of economic shutdown.

In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing ‘immunity passports’ or ‘risk-free certificates’ to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.

The practice could actually increase the risks of continued spread as people who have recovered may ignore advice about taking standard precautions against the virus, it said.

‘At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate,”‘ WHO said.  

Most studies have shown that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus, the WHO said. 

However, some of them have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies in their blood, ‘suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery’, it added.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk