New Delhi, Oct 28 (FN Bureau) 97 percent of the respondents were found to have antibodies for COVID-19 in the sixth serological survey of Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said while announcing the findings on Thursday. All the 11 districts in Delhi reported more than 95 per cent of seroprevalence (presence of antibodies) among its natives. The highest was recorded in South Delhi at 99 per cent, Jain added. He also informed that antibodies were found more among females. According to the serosurvey data, 91 per cent of women turned seropositive while 88 per cent of males were found with the COVID-19 antibodies. The findings under the latest serosurvey, conducted after the devastating second wave of COVID-19, reveal its massive impact and prevalence over the Delhi residents. Interestingly, those below 18 years of age were also found with a greater percentage of COVID-19 antibodies.
According to the report, 81.5 per cent of them have developed antibodies against COVID-19. This is when no vaccines have been given to this cohort. Dr Chandrakant Lahariya noted epidemiologist and independent researcher said that the large percentage of seroprevalence among the children could be a major driver for the Delhi government to re-open the schools physically for all the classes. The serosurvey is a representation of a prevailing situation among the people. The scale of seroprevalence suggests that herd immunity has been achieved in the national capital which could have been a major reason behind the low positivity rate in Delhi. The latest serosurvey was conducted over 28,000 people. 100 samples were collected from every 280 wards spread across 11 districts of Delhi. The first survey was conducted in June last year and the prevalence was found close to 23 per cent which rose to 29.4 per cent in the next survey done in August 2020. The third survey, which came in September last year, noted 25.1 per cent of seropositivity which increased to 25.5 per cent in the fourth serosurvey that came in October 2020. The 5th survey in January showed a two-fold rise in the seroprevalence with 56.1 per cent.