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SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in England following the first peak of the pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Helen Ward

    (Imperial College London
    National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
    Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

  • Christina Atchison

    (Imperial College London)

  • Matthew Whitaker

    (Imperial College London)

  • Kylie E. C. Ainslie

    (Imperial College London
    MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Imperial College London)

  • Joshua Elliott

    (Imperial College London)

  • Lucy Okell

    (Imperial College London
    MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Imperial College London)

  • Rozlyn Redd

    (Imperial College London)

  • Deborah Ashby

    (Imperial College London)

  • Christl A. Donnelly

    (Imperial College London
    MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Imperial College London
    University of Oxford)

  • Wendy Barclay

    (National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
    Imperial College London)

  • Ara Darzi

    (National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
    Imperial College London)

  • Graham Cooke

    (National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
    Imperial College London)

  • Steven Riley

    (Imperial College London
    MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Imperial College London)

  • Paul Elliott

    (Imperial College London
    National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
    Imperial College London)

Abstract

England has experienced a large outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, disproportionately affecting people from disadvantaged and ethnic minority communities. It is unclear how much of this excess is due to differences in exposure associated with structural inequalities. Here, we report from the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-2 (REACT-2) national study of over 100,000 people. After adjusting for test characteristics and re-weighting to the population, overall antibody prevalence is 6.0% (95% CI: 5.8-6.1). An estimated 3.4 million people had developed antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 by mid-July 2020. Prevalence is two- to three-fold higher among health and care workers compared with non-essential workers, and in people of Black or South Asian than white ethnicity, while age- and sex-specific infection fatality ratios are similar across ethnicities. Our results indicate that higher hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19 in minority ethnic groups may reflect higher rates of infection rather than differential experience of disease or care.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Ward & Christina Atchison & Matthew Whitaker & Kylie E. C. Ainslie & Joshua Elliott & Lucy Okell & Rozlyn Redd & Deborah Ashby & Christl A. Donnelly & Wendy Barclay & Ara Darzi & Graham Cooke & , 2021. "SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in England following the first peak of the pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-21237-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21237-w
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    Cited by:

    1. Steven Riley, 2022. "Steven Riley’s discussion contribution to papers in Session 1 of the Royal Statistical Society’s Special Topic Meeting on COVID‐19 transmission: 9 June 2021," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(S1), pages 53-54, November.

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