NEJM paper on Iceland throws into question Imperial College team results: Antibodies stable after 4 months. Also death rate 0.3%, 44% not diagnosed

‘Our results indicate that antiviral antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 did not decline within 4 months after diagnosis. We estimate that the risk of death from infection was 0.3% and that 44% of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland were not diagnosed by qPCR.‘

Read here (NEJM, Oct 29, 2020)

Read here the BBC story on Imperial College study that says antibodies drop rapidly  

Iceland has very good news about coronavirus immunity

‘A study on the pandemic in Iceland published in the New England Journal of Medicine offers some evidence to dispel such fears. The researchers have looked at serum samples from 30,576 individuals, using six different types of antibody testing (since different techniques often produce conflicting results).

‘The paper’s central findings are that, out of 1,797 tested people who’d recovered from Covid, 91.1% produced detectable levels of antibodies. Moreover, these levels hadn’t declined four months after the diagnosis. The immune response was higher among older individuals — who are at greater risk of developing a more dangerous form of the coronavirus — and among those who presented the worst symptoms.’

Read here (Bloomberg, Sept 3, 2020)

Twelve lessons from countries that have ameliorated the effects of Covid-19

Taiwan, Iceland, South Korea and Germany, according to this CNN article, have succeeded so far in ameliorating the effects of Covid-19. There are 12 lessons to be learned from them:

Lesson #1: Be prepared
Lesson #2: Be quick
Lesson #3: Test, trace and quarantine
Lesson #4: Use data and tech
Lesson #5: Be aggressive
Lesson #6: Get the private sector involved 
Lesson #7: Act preventatively
Lesson #8: Use tech, but respect privacy
Lesson #9: You can drive-through test
Lesson #10: Learn from the past
Lesson #11: Test more as restrictions ease
Lesson #12: Build capacity at hospitals

Read here (CNN, April 16, 2020)

Iceland study confirms a great fear: 50% asymptomatic

‘Among the Nordic nation's findings: about half of its citizenry at any given time who have coronavirus but don't know it, will be asymptomatic – a large percentage many experts studying the virus have suspected, but have had little firm data to corroborate. The US Centers for Disease Control has previously estimated that about 25% of people infected with coronavirus may be asymptomatic.’

Read here (USA Today, April 10, 2020)