Chandigarh just short of herd immunity, say experts

CHANDIGARH: The city is nearing herd immunity to coronavirus. That’s what experts believe. The optimistic projection stems from the preliminary findings of a government hospital’s serosurvey pointing out that 79.4% of the adult population have developed antibodies against Covid.

“Taking into account the variants, if more than 80% have antibodies, herd immunity is achieved,” said a public health expert at PGI. The recent serosurvey by ICMR has said 62% of the population in the country have developed antibodies.

Going by these reports, experts are hopeful that the next surge will be limited to certain pockets and not as widespread as during the second wave. “Due to the larger vaccination coverage in the city and seropositivity both in rural and the urban areas, the next wave will be manageable,” said the expert.

The ongoing serosurveys both in adult population and paediatric group — being conducted by PGI — have enabled experts to understand the prevalence of the infection. “It will also help in focusing our strategies to areas which need attention” said a health department official.