Kerala to conduct seroprevalence study amid increase in COVID-19 cases

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], August 30 : Amid rise in COVID-19 cases in Kerala, the state government has decided to conduct a seroprevalence to determine the immunity of people against the virus and assess the risk of the spread of the pandemic.
Health Minister Veena George on Monday informed that the permission to conduct COVID-19 seroprevalence study in the state has been granted.
"The seroprevalence study is being conducted to find out how many people who have been vaccinated or have contracted the COVID-19 have been able to achieve the immunity against the virus. It will also be possible to find out how many more people are at risk of contracting the disease," she said.
George said that this would help in strengthening the Covid preventive measures the state is taking. "The seroprevalence studies have been conducted 4 times nationally. At that time, Kerala had the best score in the country. The last ICMR seroprevalence study conducted found that in Kerala, 42.07 per cent of people had acquired immunity against COVID-19. Kerala had the lowest number of infected people in the state. Since then, the state has made great strides in vaccination. That is why the seroprevalence study conducted by the state is very important," she added.
The percentage of individuals in a population who have antibodies to an infectious agent is called seroprevalence.
A seroprevalence survey uses antibody tests to estimate the percentage of people in a population who have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. This can tell how many people in a specific population may have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
In Kerala, George said the survey would cover people over the age of 18, pregnant women, children between the ages of 5-17, tribal's over the age of 18, and those living in coastal areas and slum dwellers.