66% people in Tamil Nadu have COVID-19 antibodies: Study

CHENNAI: Results of the third Tamil Nadu Cross Sectional Sero Survey of July tells that 66.2 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu contain antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. More than 26,000 samples were collected for the survey among which, 17,624 individuals had a certain amount of IgG (Immunoglobulin G), which are antibodies against the novel coronavirus.

Results – The overall sero-prevalence in the state was 66.2 per cent and highest positivity was recorded in Virudhunagar district at 84 per cent. On the other hand, Erode in west Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest sero-positivity at 37 per cent, according to the survey. It was conducted by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in 888 areas across the state.

The results were released by Ma Subramanian, Minister of Medical and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, in the presence of Dr J Radhakrishnan, Principal Health Secretary, and Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health (DPH), Government of Tamil Nadu. The survey report mentioned that intense vaccination was conducted across the state from January 2021, and more inclusion of 18+ population for vaccination could have generated better sero-positivity results among people.

Procedure – The sero-survey was done under the supervision of Selvavinayagam and his team at the state and district level. 30 people were picked randomly from each cluster and blood samples were collected from a total of 26,610 participants and tested for the presence of antibodies. All the samples were tested in the six referral labs located in Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Salem.