NEW DELHI – Up to two-thirds of India’s population may have been infected with Covid-19, suggested a government study yesterday.
The blood serum survey of about 29,000 people in June and July showed 67.6% of those tested had antibodies.
The results of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study show the impact of a devastating surge of cases in April and May, when India reported about 400,000 cases and 4,000 deaths per day.
In December last year and January this year, less than 25% of those in a similar study had positive antibody tests.
ICMR chief Balram Bhargava said the study shows that “there is a ray of hope”.
“But there is no room for complacency. We must maintain Covid-19-appropriate behaviour,” he said yesterday.
The hundreds of millions in India without antibodies are more susceptible to severe infection.
Only 13% of the adults in the study were fully vaccinated.
India, home to 1.3 billion people, has only vaccinated about 8% of eligible adults, triggering fears of an imminent wave of cases as it eases Covid-19 curbs.
Its official coronavirus death toll of 418,480 is the world’s third-highest after the United States’ (US) 609,000 and Brazil’s 544,000.
But a US research group report, also released yesterday, estimated that the actual death toll could be up to 10 times higher, citing the number of extra people who died compared with pre-crisis figures. – AFP, July 21, 2021
