There was an extra eagerness about the fourth national Covid-19 sero survey conducted by the ICMR particularly since it included for the first time children in the age group of 6-17 years in the sample size. Coming as a major relief to parents and the teaching community, the survey has found that children in the above age bracket now have the level of immunity that can make them capable of handling viral infection in a much better way than in the earlier months. If this is the chief takeaway of the vital survey that is now being seen as a ray of hope, overall concern still remains as one third of the total population of the country is still lacking antibodies in their immune system that makes them vulnerable in a manner as it was in April-May-June 2020 or March-April 2021. The findings are thus yet another reminder that the pace of vaccination needs to be doubled and self-protection measures need to be continued without break.

Among a host of surveys and innumerable data gathering exercises conducted till date in India to measure the Covid pandemic, ICMR initiated sero surveys have emerged the most reliable ones. The 4th edition of the survey that estimated sero-prevalence of SARS-C0V-2 antibodies among people covering 28,975 individuals from the general population and 7,252 healthcare workers was conducted in those particular 70 districts across 21 states where all the previous three rounds were held. It has been found that the overall seroprevalence among the entire population starting from age 6 is currently 67.6% which means that two-third of the people of the country have antibodies to take on coronavirus and this is significantly higher compared to the last three rounds: 0.7 % during May-June of 2020, 7.1 % in August-September of 2020 and 24.1 % during December-January (2020-2021). But the gains thus arrived, however sizeable it seems, won’t give way to any substantial relief only due to the fact that around 40 crore of the population are still vulnerable to Covid since they haven’t developed  antibodies. The hope-anxiety mix can also be observed in the findings relating to healthcare workers- while 85 % of those surveyed had antibodies, one-tenth of them are still unvaccinated and hence lacking the much-needed virus fighting capability. It’s pertinent to mention however that prevalence of antibodies among 67 % of the population doesn’t mean that a full 67% have been vaccinated and it can be reasonably presumed that the autoimmune mechanism has played a larger role.

The survey has supplied a number of new significant facts and the way it will be interpreted will matter. It’s clear enough that 40 cr people are susceptible to the deadly virus and the only solution is accelerated vaccination.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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