MUMBAI: The BMC is likely to conduct another
sero survey post-Diwali
to ascertain exposure levels among citizens to the Covid-19-causing
SARS-CoV-2 virus
. It would be the sixth
sero survey
since July 2020.
The latest one conducted in August showed that 86% of those surveyed had
antibodies to the coronavirus. “We plan to conduct more surveys and believe it would be good to conduct one right after the Diwali festival
,” said BMC additional commissioner Suresh Kakani. He, however, added that a final decision on the dates is yet to be taken.
The BMC has set October 31 as the deadline to vaccinate the adult population — 92.3 lakh — with at least one shot of the Covid vaccine. “The next sero survey will help us assess the effect of the vaccination in creating antibodies,” said Kakani.
Sero surveys would also help health officials assess the drop in antibody levels among the population. The first sero survey conducted in July 2020, showed that seroprevalence was at 57% in slum areas and 16% in non-slums, but the second survey done a month after showed seroprevalence had dropped to 45% in slums and marginally risen to 18% in non-slum areas.