A new study has revealed that approximately 85 per cent of people who were found infected with COVID-19 in an earlier sero survey have developed protective antibodies. The latest finding is the result of a follow-up study done in five areas– consisting three or four municipal wards each of Pune district of Maharashtra.

According to a report of a News Paper, the sero survey conducted in July and August in Pune, found that, on average, about 51 per cent of the people had been infected with the deadly virus.

The sero surveys which were conducted in several Indian cities estimated the extent of the disease by testing for antibodies among surveyed population groups. However, the presence of antibodies only indicates that the surveyed person has been infected with the disease at some point in time and does not mean that the person has also acquired immunity against the disease.

Speaking to the portal, Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of the co-authors of the study said,”  I don’t think we can still say that Pune has achieved, or is reaching, herd immunity. But the study is important because it shows that wherever there was high sero-positivity, the incidence rate has fallen subsequently,” Dr Gagandeep Kang, one of the co-authors of the study whose preprint was released on Thursday, said. The study is still to be peer reviewed.”

Notably, Pune circle’s (comprising Pune, Solapur and Satara districts) fatalities remained in the double-digit level with 48 fatalities, taking the death toll to 10,387, while daily infections increased by 1,246 to 442,117 cases.

Earlier last week, the Directorate of Health Services had asked officials to ramp up testing in Maharashtra as the second wave of the pandemic is likely to hit the city in January-February 2021.