67% surveyed Indians have antibodies against coronavirus, 40 crore still at risk: Govt

New Dwlhi: Two-thirds of the Indian population, including children, have developed antibodies against virus causing Covid-19, while nearly 40 crore people are still vulnerable, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday while releasing findings of the fourth national serosurvey.

In this round of the national serosurvey, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also included children to assess their vulnerability towards coronavirus. It found that overall, 67.6 per cent surveyed Indians have developed antibodies against coronavirus.

The survey has found that more than 50 per cent of children aged 6-17 years have been exposed to Covid-19 and have developed antibodies against it.

The highest sero-prevalence was found in the age group 45-60 years (77.6 per cent), followed by those above 60 years (76.7 per cent) and those in the age group 18-44 years (66.7 per cent).

In this survey, children were divided into two age groups: 6-9 years and 10-17 years.

Sero-prevalence in the 6-9 years category was 57.2 per cent and in the 10-17 years category, it was 61.6 per cent.

Releasing the survey findings, the health ministry said states and districts with low sero-prevalence run the risk of witnessing more waves of Covid-19.

The fourth round of the serosurvey was carried out during June-July. Besides children, the survey also covered 100 healthcare workers in each district.

The survey found that among adults, 13 per cent people have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Highest sero-prevalence was found among this section of the population.

“This serosurvey results show that there is ray of hope but there is no scope for complacency,” said Dr Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR.