The World Health Organization says the contamination by Covid was much greater than we imagined

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Photo: Stradinu Slimnica / Flickr / Reproduction

Whether through a vaccine or contact with the virus, at least two-thirds of the world’s population has antibodies to defend against Covid. The conclusion is from the World Health Organization, which analyzed hundreds of seroprevalence studies from 2020 through April of this year.

According to the study published in the journal MEDICINE PLOSThe proportion of people with antibodies to the virus rose from 7.7% in June 2020 to 59.2% in September 2021. With mass vaccination, that number has only increased since then.

The survey is important because it gathers information from more than 5 million people around the world – including the poorest countries that rarely go into this type of research.

The data also shows a high probability that the virus has infected many more people than the numbers showed during the pandemic.

As of Friday (11), the WHO panel counted more than 630.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6.5 million deaths. If the study is correct, it is likely that billions of people have come into contact with the virus.

This has been a consistent question during the pandemic, especially because of the inequality in the number of cases. While countries such as China and the United Kingdom have closely tracked Covid infections, others have skipped the official count, such as It was the case of Brazil From Several countries in Africa🇧🇷

Antibodies do not guarantee immunization

The fact that two-thirds of the world’s population has antibodies against Covid does not guarantee that everyone is immune to the virus. The World Health Organization warns that the risk of reinfection with the omicron variant – and others that may eventually appear – remains.

The proof of that is A new wave of cases in Brazil🇧🇷 According to a survey conducted by the Instituto Todos pela Saúde (ITpS), the rate of positive tests for the disease in private laboratories is went from 3% to 17% In less than a month. This equates to a 566% increase.

To prevent us from returning to the Covid pandemic, the World Health Organization is suggesting the implementation of a global system to monitor the progress of cases. If the network is implemented, it should have the cooperation of all countries, in a unified manner.

“It is the next critical step in monitoring the Covid pandemic and contributing to preparedness for other emerging respiratory pathogens,” the researchers said. report🇧🇷