Survey: 50% of Bhubaneswar residents have antibodies
BHUBANESWAR: The capital city is inching closer to acquiring herd immunity with 50% of its population having already developed antibodies, up from 5% in August. This was revealed in the Serological prevalence survey undertaken recently. Its outcome suggests that half the residents of the Smart City have already been exposed to the Covid-19 virus.
The third phase of the survey was conducted by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) in Bhubaneswar from October 16 to 18 among 1,403 persons, who were picked up randomly from 25 of the city’s 67 wards.
“The formation of the antibodies in 50% of the city’s population is an indication that collective immunity has developed, which will subsequently lead to herd immunity. There were some variations in the antibody formation among people in different wards. While ward 55 witnessed the formation of antibodies in 28% of its residents, ward 16 showed the formation in 63% of its population. As many as 10 wards reported the antibody formation in half of its residents, while five of the 25 wards witnessed the formation in 60% of their population. We calculated the average, which came to 50% overall,” RMRC director Sanghamitra Pati said in a press conference.
Pati added that they didn’t find much of a difference in the level of infection between men and women, which means all were uniformly exposed. Among the people, who gave their samples for the survey, 90% of them showed no symptoms. Of the total samples, 30% had already tested positive for Covid-19 through the RTPCR and Rapid Antigen Test, she said. She, however, cautioned that the remaining 50% people need to be careful and should continue to follow the Covid-19 guidelines. “There is no room for complacency for those who are yet to be exposed to the virus,” she said.
“The outcome of the current Sero survey is a reflection of the exposure of people to the virus in September since it takes about three to four weeks to develop antibodies,” a government official said.
Till June 30, the capital city had reported 320 positive cases. Therefore, the Serological survey conducted in June had shown far less (1.24%) antibody prevalence.