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Around the world, research is underway to identify the extent of spread of the new coronavirus. In many countries, including Sweden, it is believed that part of the answer may come from reliable studies of the proportion of the population that has had an infection and therefore developed antibodies.
Wednesday featured The Spanish government and health authorities are the first results of a major national study involving more than 60,000 people. The results, which are preliminary, show that five percent of the population may have developed antibodies against the virus. At the same time, the differences between the different regions are clear: in the Madrid metropolitan area, which has been most affected by the virus, it is estimated that 11.3 percent of the population has developed antibodies.
If the results at the national level are somewhat correct, it would mean that so far more than two million Spaniards have been infected by the virus. This is significantly higher than the number of cases of a continuous covid-19 infection that has been confirmed in recent months. According to official data, so far 228,000 people in Spain have tested positive for the virus, of which more than 27,000 have died.
From the government’s point of view it is described The new study as one of the best to date in the world regarding the presence of antibodies against the virus. It is pointed out that the size of the number of participants, the cooperation with thousands of health centers and the methodology mean that the results can be considered representative of the situation in the country in general.
– We believe that this is one of the strongest epidemiological studies that have been carried out in the world to date, and undoubtedly among Western countries. This is due to the number of tests that have been carried out and the representative sample, says Science Minister Pedro Duque at a press conference.
According to Health Minister Salvador Illa, the preliminary results of the study are in line with previous evaluations carried out by the authorities. These evaluations have also been used in designing the plan that now applies to how society should reopen in the coming months, but Illa adds that the country is far from a level where it can count on so-called flock immunity.
However, it was allowed during the press conference that the results are only preliminary, and that repeated sampling of participants should be done. In the future, it is also desired that the methodology used be reviewed by external researchers and that the study be published in a scientific journal.
“The study is still in progress,” said Raquel Yotti, director of the Carlos III Health Institute, which collaborates with the country’s health authorities during the study.
