Over 50% of Dutch people have coronavirus antibodies, study finds

The Hague, Jun 2 (EFE) – At least 54% of Dutch people donating their blood to Sanquin blood donation service have Covid-19 antibodies due to vaccination or previous infection, the blood bank said Wednesday.

The percentage increase from 32% to 54% in May is largely driven by vaccination, according to Sanquin, which tests some 2,000 donors each week.

The donors with antibodies reflect the vaccination campaign of older age groups with 90% of donors over 70-years-old having antibodies followed by 85% of people in the age group 61 to 70.

The increase is also notable in donors between the age of 18 to 30. Some 40% of them tested positive for antibodies, an increase of 10% since last month.

If the percentage of people with antibodies continues to increase at this pace, immunity in the general population could be achieved by July, according to Sanquin.

The Netherlands has administered some 9.4 million vaccine doses against Covid-19 and expects to administer over 1 million this week, according to government data.

Daily infections also show a decrease of infections with 2,530 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, and 1,240 patients admitted to hospitals.

Throughout the pandemic, the Netherlands has registered 1.65 million cases and 17,632 confirmed deaths from Covid-19, although this figure could be much higher, according to death certificate counts. EFE

ir/mpjt