COVID-19: 25% of Indian have developed antibodies, reveals ICMR serosurvey

The Indian Council of Medical Research revealed in the third national serosurvey that nearly 25 per cent of Indians have developed antibodies against the coronavirus, meaning every fourth person in India has shown evidence of past coronavirus incidence.

The findings of the survey are yet to be released. However, it has been estimated that the nation's actual COVID-19 infection dimension has reached 30 crores -- even if the number of confirmed cases stands at just over 1 crore, as quoted by the New Indian Express.

“The figures are much higher in many cities, strengthening the epidemiological theory that some cities in the country may be approaching herd immunity as evident in the falling daily numbers of new cases,” said an official associated with the surveillance exercise.

 “Like the previous two surveys, the seropositivity is way higher particularly in urban slums and generally in urban areas as compared to rural areas". Moreover, the result of the survey is likely to be made public within the next few days, he added.

The first sero-surveillance was conducted in May-June 2020 on less than 1 per cent of the population and during that time the country's infection size was nearly 60 lakh.

The second serosurvey drive was carried out in August which resulted in 7 per cent seropositivity of the population across districts.  

The third serosurvey was exercised in December and January, which took blood samples from 400 randomly selected people from 22 states across 70 districts. Notably, this time the presence of antibodies was found higher compared to the first national survey.

Researchers and scientists in many countries have speculated that the COVID-19 cases will subsequently decline when 60-70 per cent of the population in an area will be exposed to the virus and have recovered.