Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

Two-thirds of India’s general population above the age of 6 years have contracted the Covid-19 infection already but one in three are still vulnerable, the ICMR’S latest national sero prevalence survey to determine the scale of Covid antibodies in the people has revealed.

The survey shows 67.6 per cent people above 6 years have developed antibodies to Covid indicating past infection.

Over half the children surveyed were sero positive and showed Covid infection, with the ICMR advising state governments to open primary schools first provided all school staffers have been fully vaccinated.

Importantly, the survey has shown that the proportion of sero prevalence was higher for people who had taken Covid vaccines.

“As per vaccine status of the surveyed population the sero positivity was 62.3 pc in unvaccinated, 81 pc in those with one vaccine dose and 89.8 pc in people who had taken both the doses. Health workers showed the highest sero prevalence at 85.2 pc. We also found that 10 per cent of the health workers we surveyed had not taken any Covid vaccine,” ICMR chief Balram Bhargava said today.

With 40 crore Indians still vulnerable, as shown by the council data, the government today said people should travel only if fully vaccinated.

“There is a ray of hope but no room for complacency. States and areas within no antibodies run the risk of infection waves. The important findings are that over half the children are sero positive and the antibody prevalence is almost similar in rural and urban areas,” Bhargava added.

The fourth round of the survey was done in the last week of June and the first week of July and covered the period after the ferocious second wave.

The survey for the first time covered children starting 6 years among the overall surveyed general population of 28,975 people.

The total survey population across 70 districts of 21 states had 7,252 healthcare workers; 6 to 9 years category number was 2,892; 10 to 17 years (5,799); 18 year plus (20,284).

“Among adults 62.2 pc people had not taken any vaccine, 24.8 pc has taken one dose, 13 pc had both doses,” the survey said.