Covid: Study finds antibodies in 7% of Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: The second round of a coronavirus prevalence study has confirmed that 7 percent of residents of Pakistan have developed antibodies for the virus, ARY News reported.

The prevalence study was carried out to determine how many people in Pakistan have developed antibodies after exposure to the virus, said health ministry spokesperson.

The second round of study was conducted by the health services academy in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 10 districts of the country.

Antibodies are blood proteins produced by the immune system to fight foreign invaders like viruses, and may help to ward off future attacks by those same invaders.

According to the results of the study, people who are infected with coronavirus but show no symptoms probably account for most virus transmission. The researchers found that coronavirus rising rapidly in urban areas as compared to rural areas of the country.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan recorded fresh 2,954 COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours, 48 more people succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 7,744. 1,389 patients have recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours and 1,751 patients are in critical condition.

On Nov 20, it emerged that the COVID-19 vaccine undergoing the third phase of a clinical trial in Pakistan has shown promising results.

It further emerged that the vaccine also proved useful for the patients who were shifted on the ventilator as 60 percent of them recovered after its dose.