In first quantitative sero-survey in Mumbai, 99.93 pc participants found with COVID-19 antibodies

Mumbai: In the first quantitative sero-survey conducted in March this year, COVID-19 antibodies were found in 3,097 out of the 3,099 health and frontline workers, who were examined, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. Comparatively, more antibodies were found in the blood samples of the employees, who have taken the preventive or booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines as compared to the fully vaccinated employees, the civic body said in a release. It was the sixth regular sero-survey, but the first quantitative sero-survey that will prove useful for deciding about the future of vaccination, it said.

The civic body also claimed that it was probably the first of the kind sero survey conducted in the country. Six months later, the second sero-survey of the same people will be conducted to count the antibody levels in their blood samples, it said. Of the 3,099 health and frontline workers, 726 employees were nurses and health workers from primary health centers in 24 wards of the BMC, 776 were Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) staffers and 779 were from solid waste management department, among others.

The civic body claimed that in the blood samples of 99.93 per cent health and frontline employees, the antibodies against the COVID-19 have been found.The sero survey was conducted collecting blood samples of the employees.

Before this, four sero-surveys were conducted among the adult citizens of Mumbai, besides a special survey of the children.

The civic body said that although the COVID-19 infection is fully under control, the sero-survey was conducted to find out the exact status of antibodies in the body of the employees, who worked closely in the management of the pandemic, besides studying what is the impact of vaccination and natural infection on the antibodies.

The quantitative sero-survey was jointly conducted by the BMC’s BYL Nair hospital and Public health department, according to the release, the formal consent of all the participants was taken for their participation in the survey.

The average age of the employees participated in the sero-survey was 43 years. Of the total participants, 58.1 per cent were males and 49.9 per cent females.

Among the participants, 99.35 per cent employees had taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those, 96.9 per cent participants had taken Covishield vaccine and another 3.3 per cent had taken Covaxin, while 36.5 per cent had taken the booster dose.

According to the release, 15.9 per cent of the total participants had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two years.