How immune are we? 3rd sero survey to include kids

Bengaluru: The state’s Health Department is all set to conduct its  third Covid sero-survey. The  state’s COVID-10 Technical  Advisory Committee (TAC)  recommends that the third  round of sero-surveillance  must begin as soon as possible. Although the protocol  remains the same as the  first two rounds, this round  will include children. Dr  Randeep D, Commissioner,  Health and Family Welfare  confirmed that the third  round will begin soon.

A sero survey is done to  estimate the prevalence of  antibodies against a specific pathogen, as an indicator of immunity. Antibodies are present in the  body usually after a vaccination or if the person has  had the actual infection.  There is no need to ascertain if the immunity  comes from the vaccine or  the natural infection.

The recommendation  from TAC comes after authorities established that  there is no new virus  strain doing the rounds in  Karnataka, apart from the  Delta variant. “There is no  concern now regarding a  new variant and the people  are fairly immune to the  virus due to the sero-conversion caused by the vaccination. However, the  known virus variants continue to circulate.”

The surveillance will include both vaccinated and  non-vaccinated people and  include children too. For  the government, this will  provide a major leap in understanding which sections of the population  have been infected with the  coronavirus.

According to Dr CR Jayanthi, director-cum-dean  of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute  (BMCRI) said, “I think so  we should go with the third  round of the Sero-survey  with children part of it. We  are conducting a survey  within the hospital, based  on patients who visit the  institute. We noticed that  the pandemic peaked in  February and March, I  don’t know how further  waves will impact us.”

Dr Prutha Narendra  Dhekane, consultant - Infectious Diseases, Fortis  Hospitals, told News Trail  that a sero-survey is done  to find out how many people have been affected with  a virus. “A higher percentage of sero means that  more people have taken the  vaccine and / or been infected with the virus.”  However, she adds, “People  should not misinterpret  the data after it is provided  to the public. People commonly misread the data  and assume that we are all  immune to the virus once  and for all. It is simply  done to understand endemicity and how many people have been exposed to  the virus.”

It’s vital to include children, Dr Prutha adds.  “They haven’t been vaccinated yet, so it will go a  long way in helping us understand their levels of exposure. It will help contain  the spread of the virus.”