Coronavirus: more than two-thirds of the world’s population has antibodies to Covid-19

More than two-thirds of the world’s population probably has a significant amount of COVID-19 antibodies, either after vaccination or natural contamination, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

Seroprevalence (number of people who develop antibodies) increased to 67% in October. As of February 2021, it was still 16%, according to the WHO, which relies on several international studies. Due to the progression of the more contagious omicron variant, this figure is probably even higher.

People who have already been infected and vaccinated have the best protection against severe forms of Covid-19, according to many studies. However, it is not known whether this applies to new variants.

The data also show that seroprevalence is lower in children under nine years of age and in adults over sixty years of age, compared to people in their twenties, says WHO.

Over time, the number of antibodies decreases. Several factors play a role in this, according to the WHO. Future studies should determine how quickly this protection decreases.