Agencies

New Delhi, July 20:

Two-thirds of the Indian population, including children, have developed antibodies against Covid-19, while nearly 40 crore people are still vulnerable to the viral infection, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday while releasing findings of the fourth national serosurvey.

In this round of the national serosurvey, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also included children to assess their vulnerability towards Covid-19.

The survey has found that more than 50 per cent of children aged 6-17 years have been exposed to Covid-19 and developed antibodies against it.

The highest sero-prevalence was found in the age group 45-60 years (77.6 per cent), followed by those above 60 years (76.7 per cent) and those in the age group 18-44 years (66.7 per cent).

In this survey, children were divided into two age groups: 6-9 years and 10-17 years. Sero-prevalence in the 6-9 years category was 57.2 per cent and in the 10-17 years category, it was 61.6 per cent.