New Delhi: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Advisor Dr Rakesh Mishra has stressed on the importance of conducting a nationwide serosurvey saying that the Delta variant (B16172) of COVID-19 will likely change in the next two months.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will begin the fourth national-level serosurveys to assess the spread of COVID-19 and all states/UTs. According to Niti Aayog, preparations for the national serosurvey have been completed and the work for the next serosurvey will begin this month.
“The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will conduct national serosurveys to assess the COVID-19 spread and states/UTs should also conduct them to get all geographies’ information,” Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
Speaking about the ICMR’s national serosurvey, Dr Rakesh Mishra said, “It helps us in finding out the infection rate and how many have anti-bodies, or how far are we from herd immunity. It will also tell us which party of the country has less positivity.”
“It will also tell us about anti-bodies in people who are already vaccinated. A large scale serosurvey in the country will be very useful,” Dr Mishra added.