Immunity

Health Ministry adviser Sotiris Tsiodras said one more fatality brought Greece's coronavirus death toll inched to 156 on Thursday and 10 new confirmed infections have resulted in the total number of cases recorded in the country coming to 2,770.

He added that 24 Covid-19 patients remain intubated at the country's hospitals and 90 have been discharged from intensive care.

"The vaccine is about to be designed. The prototype will be ready in three months. Then comes the long period of testing. Normally the operation lasts about a year. The competition between the companies is about who will be able to get state sums that are given by the rich countries in terms of testing fatser", this was said to BNR by Assoc. Prof.

It is unclear whether the presence of antibodies in the blood confer complete immunity against COVID-19. This was stated by one of WHO experts Mike Ryan.

Even if antibodies are effective, there is little indication that a large number of people have developed them and are beginning to offer so-called herd / group immunity.

Greek lawmakers on Thursday voted to lift the immunity of three MPs in separate cases previously discussed in the Parliament's Ethics Committee.

A total of 224 MPs in a total of 225 agreed to lift the immunity of former health minister Andreas Loverdos, as regards the ongoing investigation into the handling of the Novartis case.

The Parliament's plenary on Wednesday decided to lift the immunity of former alternate health minister Pavlos Polakis from prosecution.

Parliament's ethics committee has recommended the lifting of former alternate health minister Pavlos Polakis' immunity from prosecution to pave the way for a judicial inquiry into accusations made by Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras that he recorded a private telephone conversation between the pair without his consent, as well as a charge of slander made by the head of the workers' uni

The case file of an ongoing investigation into the acquisition of a C4I security system and surveillance system by Greece for the Olympic Games in 2004 will be sent to parliament in the coming days, as the name of a former minister has come up during the probe, according to information.

Albania's ruling Socialist Party has been criticised over a proposal that would oblige the prosecution to submit incriminating evidence to parliament before an MP can be stripped of immunity and arrested.

Critics say the change would undermine the rule of law and endow parliament with powers that should rest with only with the courts.

Venezuela’s pro-government constitutional assembly has stripped opposition leader Freddy Guevara of his immunity from prosecution in a case that is fueling fears of another crackdown on President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents.

A United Nations judge currently under arrest in Turkey over alleged links to the Gülenist network does not have diplomatic immunity to bar him from his imprisonment, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said in a televised interview on Feb. 1.