About 3 percent of the Dutch have developed an antibody against the coronavirus. According to a yet to be published study among blood donors, RIVM boss Jaap van Dissel reports Thursday during a hearing in the House of Representatives.
This is an investigation by Sanquin Blood Supply. The organization looked at the proportion of Dutch plasma and blood donors that have developed antibodies against the virus.
From a number of people tested, the researchers know from previous sampling that they were not yet infected with the coronavirus. It is still being determined whether the persons all have a memory of the infection. The organization started the investigation at the end of March.
Van Dissel emphasizes that the investigation is still ongoing. He hopes the results will be published internationally soon.
“If you look through your eye hair, then about 3 percent have developed antibodies against the coronavirus. If you then calculate back in numbers, that concerns several hundred thousand Dutch people,” says Van Dissel.
The older the person, the less antibody
The percentage of antibodies differs per age group. Eighteen to twenty year olds (688 persons) are 3.6 percent. That proportion steadily decreases as the people tested get older. No antibodies were found in the group between the ages of 71 and 80, only ten people
Individuals who have recovered from the coronavirus have “some degree of immunity,” said the RIVM chief. He repeated his previous suspicion that not everyone who has had the virus is immune.
It is also not known how long individuals remain immune if they have had the virus.
According to RIVM, group immunity received too much attention
The percentage of Dutch people who are said to be immune raises questions. SP Member of Parliament Maarten Hijink wants to know what it means for group protection, for which about 60 percent of all Dutch people must be immune. “The 3 percent seems relatively little,” said Hijink.
According to Van Dissel, the principle of group immunity received too much attention just after the outbreak in the Netherlands. “It is a by-product of the virus circulating,” said Van Dissel.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte cited group immunity in his national speech on March 16. “With group immunity you build, as it were, a protective wall around them. That is the principle,” said Rutte at the time.
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The coronavirus in short
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