Mumbai: According to the latest Sero study done by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai, about 51 percent of children aged 6 to 18 had developed antibodies against Covid-19.
Since March 2020, when the first Covid-related lockdown was imposed in the country, this is the fourth Sero survey done in Mumbai, which has been done in the context of a likely third wave of Covid-19 expected to adversely impact kids.
The result of the last serosurvey in Mumbai was released in March, finding that women have higher antibodies to fight the coronavirus than men. It also revealed that seropositivity was rising in non-slum areas while declining in slum areas.
ALSO READ | Delayed Second, Third Doses Of AstraZeneca Vaccine Boosts Immunity Against Covid: Study
According to Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, “The overall seropositivity rate of 1 to 18 years is 51.18 percent. There is a notable increase in the seropositivity in the pediatric population to SARS-CoV-2 in this study as compared to serosurvey three conducted in March 2021 which showed seropositivity of 39.4 percent in the age group of 18 years which indicates that a significant proportion of children accessing the healthcare services were exposed to the virus during the second wave of Covid-19”.
The positivity was found to be the highest (53.43 percent) among children aged 10 to 14. Seropositivity rates for children aged 1-4 years are 51.04 percent, 47.33 percent for children aged 5-9 years, 53.43 percent for children aged 10-14 years, and 51.39 percent for children aged 15-18 years when age is taken into account. Overall, 51.18 percent of people are seropositive, with 47.03 percent in the private sector, and 54.36 percent of people in the public sector.
This survey was undertaken when the second wave of coronavirus was at its peak in Maharashtra and India, between April 1 and June 15. It was undertaken in collaboration between BYL Nair Hospital and Kasturba Molecular Laboratory.