More people now have covid-19 antibodies in the UK than ever before, new figures suggest. Around 98.4 per cent of the adult population in England is now estimated to have antibodies, along with 98.3 per cent in both Scotland and Wales and 98.1 per cent in Northern Ireland.
The presence of coronavirus antibodies implies someone has had the infection in the past or has been vaccinated. The latest figures, which have been calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are for the week ending February 20 and are the highest for all four UK nations since estimates began at the end of 2020.
They also show how antibody levels have jumped in recent months, reflecting the impact of the vaccine booster campaign that began in autumn 2021 but also the surge in coronavirus infections in December and January caused by the Omicron variant. At the start of October 2021, just 61 per cent of adults in England were likely to have Covid-19 antibodies, along with 59.9 per cent in Scotland, 57.8 per cent in Wales and 56.5 per cent in Northern Ireland.
Levels among young children have also risen sharply. About a third (33 per cent) of eight to 11-year-olds in England were estimated to have antibodies at the start of December 2021 – the earliest figure available – but this now stands at 72.3 per cent.
There has been a similarly steep rise in Scotland for this age group, from 31.9 per cent to 71.3 per cent, and even bigger jumps in Wales (from 26.6 per cent to 72.7 per cent) and Northern Ireland (14.8 per cent to 78.8 per cent). Only a small number of children aged eight to 11 in the UK outside clinical trials have received any Covid-19 vaccine, meaning most people in this age group with antibodies will have them due to a coronavirus infection.
All five to 11-year-olds will be offered the vaccine later in the spring, the Government announced last month. First doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been available for 12 to 15-year-olds in the UK since September last year, with jabs being offered in schools as well as at local vaccination centres.
More than nine in 10 children in this age group are now likely to have coronavirus antibodies, the ONS found. Estimates range from 94.7 per cent of those aged 12-15 in Scotland to 93.9 per cent in England, with 94.4 per cent in Northern Ireland and 94.0 per cent in Wales.
All ONS estimates are based on a sample of blood test results from people in private households and are subject to uncertainty, given they are based on samples that are part of the wider population. Antibody positivity is defined by having a fixed concentration of antibodies in the blood.
A negative test result occurs if there are no antibodies, or if antibody levels are too low to reach the threshold at the time of testing. It takes between two and three weeks after infection – or vaccination – for the human body to make enough antibodies to fight coronavirus.
Levels are expected to decrease over time irrespective of vaccination or natural infection, especially when exposure to the virus is reduced, the ONS said. This is because our bodies stop making antibodies when they are not needed.
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