About 8 in 10 young adults in the UK are likely to have COVID-19 antibodies, the Press Association has reported.
New figures estimate people aged 16-24 range from 80.4% in Northern Ireland to 85.6% in Scotland, with 83.9% for Wales and 85.4% for England .
The presence of antibodies to the coronavirus suggests that someone has already had the virus or has been vaccinated.
After two to three weeks of infection or vaccination, your body is able to make enough antibodies to fight it off.
The antibodies then remain in the blood at low levels. However, these can decrease over time and eventually decrease to the point that tests can no longer detect them.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are based on a sample of blood test results for the week starting August 9.
Estimates are for people living in private households and do not include settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.
The figures suggest that antibody levels in young adults have recently increased, coinciding with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in younger age groups.
In England, the percentage of 16 to 24 year olds likely to have Covid-19 antibodies increased from 52.9% in the week starting June 7 to 85.4% in the week starting August 9, while estimates for 25 to 34 year olds – the elderly went from 67.8% to 96.2%.
Scotland saw particularly strong increases over the two-month period, with an increase from 40.7% to 85.6% for 16-24 year olds and from 59.7% to 96.2% for 25 to 34 years old.
However, those in the older age groups may be on the decline after studies show that vaccines decrease in effectiveness.
“In some regions and countries, we are starting to see a decline in the percentage of people testing positive for antibodies among the older age groups, although the rates among these age groups remain high,” said the ONS.
“Most older people who are vaccinated will retain higher antibody levels than before vaccination, but may have lower numbers of antibodies in their blood at the time of the test,” they added.
Overall, it is estimated that 94.1% of England’s adult population would likely have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies during the week starting August 9.
For Wales the figure is 92.0%, for Scotland 93.6% and for Northern Ireland 90.4%.
The ONS said there is a clear pattern between vaccination and testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies but “detection of antibodies on its own is not an accurate measure of the immune protection given by vaccination” .
More about this article: Read More
Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-09-01 12:31:59
