Delhi soon to attain herd immunity from COVID-19, indicates fifth round of sero survey

New Delhi: Delhi is inching closer towards herd immunity from coronavirus, with 50 to 60 per cent of people in one district having developed antibodies to the virus, the fifth round of sero-survey conducted in January has revealed, sources said on Monday. The latest sero-survey conducted by the Delhi government in association with the National Centre for Disease Control has found that every second person in Delhi has developed antibodies against the novel coronavirus. For the current survey, scientists had collected the samples of over 25,000 people from various districts across the city.

Delhi has a population of more than two crore, spread across 11 districts.

The authorities are trying to achieve the herd immunity with the vaccination programme, in which it is expcted that a critical mass of immune people can stop the spread of the virus by breaking the chain of transmission.

Although the official figures from the health ministry say only 6.33 lakh people have been found infected in Delhi, the survey indicates that the total figure could be more than 1 crore, sources said.

The total number of infected people in the national capital has crossed 6.34 lakh. The number of fatalities touched 10,813 with five new deaths on Monday.