87 % of the people have sero prevalence against SARS-CoV-2 in Himachal
The Health Department that a population-based sero survey was conducted in the State of Himachal Pradesh during June-July, 2021 to estimate the proportion of the population with antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in more than or equal to 6 years of age group. In the study a minimum of 400 individuals was enrolled from each district, thus, totaling the participants to 4822.
The Government spokesperson further added that out of the total of 4822, 437 were between 6-9 years, 939 between 10-17 years, 2005 between 18-44 years, 962 between 45-60 years, and 479 more than 60 years. There were a total of 2218 males and 2594 females and 10 others.
He added that out of the 4,822 tested, 4079 individuals had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, with a weighted and test adjusted seroprevalence of 87.5% (95% CI: 85.4 – 89.4).
The District reported high seroprevalence ranging from 76.1% (Una) to 95.6% (Kinnaur). The children had lower seroprevalence (53.6% aged 6-9 years and 61.5% aged 10-17 years) than adults (around 98%) and seroprevalence was similar by sex.
However, Seroprevalence was higher among vaccinated (One dose: 95.4%, Two doses: 97.6%) than the unvaccinated (71.5%).
The Government spokesperson further added that a total of 56.2% of people in the sample were vaccinated with the first dose and 43.4% were vaccinated with the second dose.
He concluded that a large proportion of the population aged 6 years and above, nearly around 87% have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
However, the seroprevalence is lower among children than the adults. We recommend focusing on covering the population with two doses to maintain the population immunity.
