Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, said Friday that certificates of immunity for Americans have been discussed during White House meetings, according to a report.
Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN that the idea that people carry such certificates to prove they have tested positive for antibodies might “have some merit under certain circumstances.”
“It’s one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure that we know who the vulnerable people are and not,” Fauci said, adding that the antibody tests will be available soon.
The top infectious disease expert added that antibody tests will be important for medical workers on the front line of the pandemic.
“If their antibody test is positive, one can formulate strategies about whether or not they would be at risk or vulnerable to getting re-infected. This would be important for health care workers, for first-line fighters,” he said on the network.
“Within a period of a week or so, we’re going to have a rather large number of tests that are available,” Fauci added.
He said testing of people who currently have COVID-19 and antibody tests will be done concurrently.
Fauci also predicted there will be many deaths in the next week — but “deaths tend to lag behind what the driving elements of the outbreak are,” and there should be fewer hospitalizations and intubations.
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