Only 5.2% of people in Spain have antibodies against the coronavirus – far from a so-called herd immunity level, a government study found. In a potentially worrisome development, the study also indicated that people’s immunity to the coronavirus declines after a few weeks.
The third and final phase of a large study in Spain found that 5% of participants had antibodies against coronavirus after the first phase, 5.2% after the second phase, and again 5.2% after the third phase.
The study from Spain also found that 7% of participants who had antibodies in the first phase no longer showed them in the second phase, and that about 14% who had them in the first phase had lost them in the third phase, Although this final figure requires further study, the health ministry said in a statement on Monday.
This means that any perceived immunity “may be incomplete, transitory and then disappear,” Dr. Raquel Yotti, director of the Carlos III Health Institute, a key government agency leading the study, said at a press conference.
More about the study: Spain’s April-June study involved more than 61,000 participants, which the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control told CNN that it appears to be the largest to date in Europe.
The study “reflects the difficulty of obtaining collective immunity in the short term,” said the statement from the Ministry of Health.
The Lancet medical journal published the first peer-reviewed phase of the Spain study on Monday, which was completed in early May. And in a complementary comment, two virologists in Geneva said that the herd’s immunity is “unattainable.”
The study from Spain also found that 10% of health workers had antibody prevalence and 7.7% of workers in higher care centers had antibodies, more than the national average, according to the statement from the Ministry of Health. Health.
Remember: Collective immunity is achieved when a sufficient population has been infected with, or vaccinated against, a virus or bacteria to stop its circulation.
Yotti urged the population, including people who have had Covid-19, to be cautious and wear masks, maintain social distance, and use hand hygiene.
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