Ground Up news channel revealed the results of a third COVID survey by the South African National Blood Transfusion Service. They say their chemists tested for two different antibodies in March 2022 before reaching a startling conclusion. This was that approximately 98% of people in South Africa either have COVID vaccinations, or had a COVID infection, or both. Do all South Africans have COVID antibodies by now, we wonder?
Could All South Africans Have COVID Antibodies By Now?
That’s an open question given the recent fifth surge that just as rapidly tapered off. Intriguingly, only a scant 10% of the people with vaccines had escaped the disease itself according to the research. The April / May wave suggests reinfection has become a commonplace event.
However, the study was only a small one and at best partly random. That’s because it included just 3,395 donors, among the many thousands more the blood service works with in all nine South African provinces. The team calculated the results as follows:
- Some 98% of adults had antibodies before the fifth wave peaked in May 2022.
- Therefore, a small 2% of them were unvaccinated or never had the disease.
A Brief Overview of the Testing Procedure
The researchers chose their small sample from among their blood donor population. They reasoned among themselves their study was sufficiently representative to act as a guideline. They used a battery of two tests as follows:
- The first test looked for antibodies that develop if somebody is infected who has not had Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson vaccination.
- The second test looked for anti-spike antibodies. These appear in people with vaccinations, infections, or both.
The Blood Service team believes these two tests taken together confirm a 98% proportion of South Africans with vaccines, past / current infections, or both. Is this herd immunity in 2022?
Breaking News
COVID Burnout With Emergency Medical Staff
