Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Have we reached herd immunity?

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

When the Office for National Statistics released the last antibody survey a fortnight ago, the results were underwhelming. After watching prevalence in the population shoot upwards for months, the figure had plateaued at 55 per cent. There were several reasons suggested for the stall, including the move to giving second doses and difficulties detecting fading antibodies (which the ONS is quick to point out does not necessarily mean a person no longer has immunity). But, regardless, it raised concerns that it might take longer to reach high antibody prevalence rates than previously hoped.

Thankfully, today’s update has provided plenty of cheer. In the two weeks following the last update (taking us up to the week ending 11 April), antibody prevalence has risen across the UK. In England, 68.3 per cent of people are now estimated to have Covid-19 antibodies, translating to roughly seven in every ten people.

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