INDIA MUST CONTINUE TO BE VIGILANT, BOOST VACCINATION DRIVE: Two-thirds of India’s population have antibodies against COVID-19, a survey of 29,000 people across the nation conducted in June and July has revealed. It means 400 million of the country’s 1.4 billion people did not have antibodies, i.e. one out of three is still vulnerable. The fourth national blood serum survey, which tests for antibodies, included 8,691 children aged 6-17 years for the first time. Half of them were seropositive. The survey showed 67.6% of adults were seropositive, while more than 62% of adults were unvaccinated. As of July, just over 8% of eligible adults had been inoculated. Though daily cases have fallen to four-month lows, the danger of new outbreaks is very much there. Therefore, societal, public, religious and political congregations should be avoided and, at the same time, step up the vaccination campaign. [COMMENT BY’ Stephen N R, Senior Associate Editor]
Reuters