In what appears to be the only good news coming out of this year, one in every four Indians might already have the antibodies to fight against COVID-19, Times of India reported.
According to the report, Pune had reported over 50% sero-positivity in certain pockets on Monday, while Mumbai had reported 57% positivity in slums.
That being said, whether this immunity is short term or long term, we still do not know. However, the hopes remain that with many people with these antibodies in a community, we could be moving towards herd immunity.
However, since you need 60-70% of the population to have antibodies to have herd immunity, we still have a long way to go.
But experts believe that Indian communities are closer to herd immunity than their global counterparts.
A doctor from a public hospital spoke to reporters regarding the same and said: “We Indians have been exposed to so many microorganisms that we’ve a better immune response.”
Mind you, India has had a better recovery rate and a lower fatality rate compared to the West.