India: two thirds of citizens are naturally immune
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) published the results of its fourth HIV prevalence study conducted in 21 states in June and July with 36,227 people participating, including 7,252 health workers. It found that 67.6% of people over the age of six, about two-thirds of the Indian population, have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
However, as Statista's Niall McCarthy notes , despite that high percentage, at least 400 million people across the country remain at risk of infection and officials have warned against easing Covid-19 protocols.
Among the different age groups, the highest level of antibodies was observed in the 45-60 age group at 77.6 percent, followed by the over 60s at 76.7 percent. Elsewhere, 61.6% of respondents aged 18 to 44 had antibodies, as did 57.2% of younger Indians aged 6 to 9. However, in general, two thirds of Indians already have immune coverage, between disease and vaccination, and this speaks volumes about the spread of the disease, also because children have not yet been vaccinated.
The survey also explored seroprevalence among healthcare workers, finding 85% were exposed to the virus.
India has so far reported 31 million cases of Covid-19 and 400,000 deaths. Although they have been hit hard in recent months and cases peaked at 380,000, they are now steadily decreasing and averaging around 40,000 per day. The head of the ICRM, Dr. Balram Bhargava, said that “the fourth serum survey shows that there is a ray of hope, but there is no room for complacency. We must maintain a behavior appropriate to Covid ".
When the results of the third HIV-positive survey were released in February, prior to this wave, only 21% of people in India had antibodies to Covid-19.
Now with such a large number of positives it seems rather obvious that the number of patients is falling. Even without a vaccine, at least 50% of Indians are naturally immune.
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The article India: two thirds of citizens are naturally immune comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/india-due-terzi-dei-cittadini-e-naturalmente-immune/ on Tue, 27 Jul 2021 07:30:21 +0000.