Ghaziabad to conduct antibody test for fully vaccinated beneficiaries

In a first, Ghaziabad will test 500 random people -- mostly health care and front line workers -- who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to find out their levels of antibodies against the Sars-CoV-2 virus

In a first, Ghaziabad will test 500 random people -- mostly health care and front line workers -- who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to find out their levels of antibodies against the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

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“The tests will start this week and will target those who have completed at least 14 days after their second dose. It will determine the extent of development of antibodies among the different age groups and will also help the state in taking policy decisions,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.

The survey is being conducted on orders from the Uttar Pradesh government that has already commissioned a similar survey in Lucknow.

The officials said they would not consider whether the survey participants had been infected previously or not. The samples, taken from equal number of men and women and from different age groups, will be sent to King George’s Medical College (KGMC) in Lucknow for testing, they said.

The health department said that the survey will also provide the government with an indicator of whether antibody levels had not developed in some people and the steps that would be required in case of another wave of infections.

“The study will also reveal how long the antibodies last in the bodies of different age groups. The higher the antibody levels, the higher the rate of protection against the virus. We will be including primarily front line workers (medical staff, police and district officials) during the study,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad.

While Covishield has reported an efficacy of 76%, Covaxin recently reported its phase 3 trials to be 77.8% effective. According to experts, antibodies against the virus develop in the body two weeks after the second dose.

Earlier serological surveys (determining the level of antibodies) were not exclusively for vaccinated people.

In the first serological survey held in August last year in 11 UP cities, around 22% of people had antibodies, also called the prevalence rate. Ghaziabad, which was included in the survey, had a prevalence rate of around 25%. At the time, 1,500 people had been tested per city.

In another survey that was held last month, 1,440 people had been tested in the city. “In the survey conducted in June, the state officials have indicated that the prevalence rate was about 60-70%. The report is yet to be made official,” said an official familiar with the development. “The rate of prevalence of antibodies was higher as the survey was conducted immediately after the second wave of infection’s peak that had infected a large number of people in a short span of time.”