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This is the result of the first nationwide antibody study presented by Statistics Austria and the Ministry of Education on Friday. Therefore, Austria is a long way from achieving herd immunity naturally. Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (VP) described waiting for it as an “illusion”. The exit from the pandemic “could only be achieved through vaccination.”
61 percent of cases go unnoticed
Another finding of the study is: The proportion of cases not registered by the authorities is higher than that of those registered by the authorities. Of those who tested positive for antibodies, 61 percent had not previously registered with the epidemiological notification system (EMS).
This shows once again that “the virus went relatively unnoticed by some people,” said Matea Paskvan, project manager for the study at Statistics Austria. The responses to the questionnaires showed that many cases were “very symptom free”. Although this does not mean that these people act as “super spreaders”, they pose a risk of infection, according to the tenor expert.
For this antibody study, 2,229 people were bled in mid-November. Neutralizing antibodies that protect against infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus were found in a total of 92 samples. The formation of such antibodies requires a previous Covid disease. The presence of the antibodies also suggests immunity, said virologist Lukas Weseslindtner, who was involved in the study, even if there was some decline in infections that occurred some time ago.
