The fifth round of sero-prevalence survey conducted in Delhi has indicated that the population of the city could be heading towards attaining herd immunity against the coronavirus infection, reported PTI, citing sources on Monday, 25 January.
According to PTI, the survey discovered that in one district, 50-60% of the sampled population has developed antibodies to the virus.
MORE DETAILS
Delhi population, panning 11 districts, is over two crores, reported PTI.
For this survey, samples of over 25,000 people from various districts across the city were collected, reported PTI, citing officials.
A source, on the condition of anonymity, reportedly told PTI:
"In one district, the sero-prevalence rate is between 50-60%, indicating a large number of people have developed antibodies, so we can say the city is moving towards attaining herd immunity.”
The Delhi government is yet to give an official version on the survey outcome.
The first survey was carried out in June and July 2020 by the Delhi government in association with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), which had used 21,387 samples and had found that around 23% of the people surveyed had an exposure to the novel coronavirus.
WHAT IS HERD IMMUNITY?
According to PTI, experts say herd immunity is believed to have been developed when 50-60% of a population shows presence of antibodies in a sero-prevalence survey.
'Herd immunity' ensures that a large percentage of the population becomes immune to infections like COVID-19, which breaks the transmission chain and protects the remaining people within the group from getting infected. This can be achieved either through exposure to the infection or via vaccination. FIT had explained in detail what this means here.
(With inputs from PTI)
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