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covid antibody study shows herd immunity 'difficult to achieve'
a study out of spain shows only five per cent of the population has developed antibodies to covid-19.
jul 7 2020
1 minute read
getty images
getty images
a study published yesterday in the lancet revealed that only five per cent of spain’s population has developed antibodies to the covid-19 virus.
the researchers looked at over 61,000 participants and 35,833 households varying in age, sex and region, finding no differences between males and females. prevalence increased in childhood and adolescence, remained stable in older ages and decreased again after age 85.
it’s the first nationwide, population-based study of its kind and, spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, shows that herd immunity is nigh impossible without a high moral cost.
at present, herd immunity is difficult to achieve without accepting the collateral damage of many deaths in the susceptible population and overburdening of health systems,” the study reads.
even in hotspot regions, most of the population was seronegative (they didn’t have antibodies), indicating most people simply weren’t exposed to the virus. madrid had a prevalence of 10 per cent, while barcelona only had seven per cent.
the study’s lead author, marina pollán, director of the national center for epidemiology, told cnn, “some experts have computed that around 60 per cent of seroprevalence might mean herd immunity. but we are very far from achieving that number.”
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the results also showed that about a third of cases were asymptomatic.
the peer reviewed study ran from april 27th to may 11th when spain was still under strict lockdown. spain has had more than 28,000 deaths and 250,000 cases.
nsokic@postmedia.com | @sokic_
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