PremiumThe antibodies wane over a period of time, hence Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist, referred to the need of stopping Covid transmission.
A top US scientist has said that each wave reminds people of ‘Covid is not over yet', while individuals claiming the achievement of ‘herd immunity’ as they develop antibodies against the coronavirus infection.
However, the antibodies wane over a period of time, hence Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist, referred to the need of stopping Covid transmission.
Sharing a series of tweets on his official handle, the health economist wrote, “WANING ANTIBODIES—how #COVID antibodies builds but then wanes over time… from Dec 2020 to Dec 2022. Each time one arrogantly claims “#herdimmunity achieved" each wave—nature reminds us #CovidIsNotOver. We need to stop transmission."
Eric is ‘semi hopeful’ that high antibodies in the elderly will protect against different Covid-19 variants.
“I’m semi hopeful that high antibodies in the elderly will protect against variants. But how many of these are old generation Wuhan 1.0 or Alpha variant antibodies that can now be evaded by #XBB15? How much old antibodies needed to neutralize XBB15?" he asked.
He further cited examples of some countries where Covid-19 has increased or decreased over a period of times. "The following points are for the week ending 3 January 2023 for England and Wales, and the week ending 31 December 2022 for Northern Ireland and Scotland," the tweet read.
1) The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) decreased in England and Wales, continued to increase in Scotland, and the trend was uncertain in Northern Ireland.
2) In England, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 2,189,300 (95% credible interval: 2,094,800 to 2,283,200), equating to 4.02% of the population (a decrease from 4.52% in the previous reference week), or around 1 in 25 people.
3) In Wales, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 157,000 (95% credible interval: 136,500 to 180,100), equating to 5.16% of the population (a decrease from 5.70% in the previous reference week), or around 1 in 19 people.
4) In Northern Ireland, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 129,100 (95% credible interval: 109,800 to 151,200), equating to 7.04% of the population, or around 1 in 14 people.
5) In Scotland, the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 219,600 (95% credible interval: 189,300 to 251,600), equating to 4.17% of the population (an increase from 4.05% in the previous reference week), or around 1 in 25 people.