Toshi Jyotsna
In every 5 adults of the country 1 had been infected by Covid-19 at some point, says a survey by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research).
The survey is based on the serological test data which reflects the seroprevalence of antibodies, as evidence that the person has had Covid-19.
The Director-General of ICMR Balram Bhargava said: “Delhi was not a part of the survey we have made statistical extrapolations so we can say that 21.4% of Indians were seropositive.”
The ICMR has conducted three surveys so far. In April 2020 the first survey was conducted, detecting only 0.7% prevalence.
The second survey conducted in August however reflected an increase of 6.3%.
The third serological survey found a significant increase in prevalence at 21.4%.
This survey was conducted on adults between December 17 and January 8 in the same villages in 70 districts across 21 states in India where the first and second rounds were conducted.
The survey samples were collected from 700 villages, covering 28,589 people aged over 10 and 7,171 healthcare workers.
In separate data released on the prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies among teen-agers, was found to be 25.3%.
The seroprevalence among health workers was 25.7% with antibodies found in 26.6% of doctors and nurses. At 22.7%, the antibody prevalence in women was slightly higher as compared to men at 20.3%.
Currently, India’s total Covid-19 active cases tally has dropped down drastically. Almost 50 districts have not reported any new cases in the last three weeks.
The average Covid-19 cases have fallen sharply bringing the new daily infections to the lowest in eight months, while deaths fell below 100, the smallest single-day total since May.
The country has one of the lowest Covid-19 fatality rates among the top 20 worst-hit nations across the globe.
With India becoming the fastest nation to cross the 5 million mark on Covid-19 vaccination in 21 days, we still have a long way to go as we are a 1.38 billion strong population nation.
This survey reveals that a large proportion is still vulnerable and following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour is the only way out.
There is no scope to lower the guard as herd immunity could not be assumed.
Furthermore, the resurgence of Covid-19 cases has been reported from several countries in Europe and Americas, therefore the government continues to emphasize on the need to limit viral transmission by advocating adherence to Covid-19 appropriate behaviours i.e.wearing of mask/face covers; physical distancing and hand hygiene all the time.