Pune: Know Why Higher Number of People Have Developed COVID19 Antibodies
Pune, August 21, 2020: The percentage of Punekars who have developed antibodies for Coronavirus is much higher as compared to the larger cities like Mumbai and Delhi, revealed the latest Sero Survey results. This has led to a widespread discussion over whether Pune is leading towards herd immunity against the deadly outbreak that has halted the world.
Out of the 1,664 blood samples of people collected from five Prabhag (sub-wards) under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), antibodies were found to be present in 51.5 percent of the samples. The percentage is 23.8 percent in Delhi and 16 percent on average in Mumbai.
However, scientists have stated that the larger percentage could just be a result of the time when the Sero Survey was conducted, as the survey was conducted in Delhi and Mumbai in the months of June-July, while it was conducted in Pune during July-August when the number of asymptomatic patients in the city might have increased.
In order to develop herd immunity, at least 70 to 80 percent of the population needs to get infected. However, that is not the case in India yet. Further, the antibody tests were conducted in a limited number of areas in Pune, which could also have affected the results.
Another important finding for Pune city has been the lower number of patients above the age of 66. This has been attributed to the extra care taken by the Pune Municipal Corporation to ensure that the number of cases amongst senior citizens remains low.
