A serological surveillance (sero survey) under the World Health Organization (WHO), conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), has allayed apprehension regarding a potential third wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in India disproportionately affecting children. The interim findings of the ongoing sero survey point out that the SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity rate in children aged two years and above is comparable to that in adults and thus there is no statistical evidence to suggest that the 2-17 age groups is especially vulnerable to a potential third wave.

The interim findings that appeared on a pre-print server are based on a mid-term analysis of the data of around 4,509 participants from across five states. With 700 children in the 2-17 years age bracket and 3,809 people aged 18 years and over.

The data collection period was from March 15 to June 10 from the Delhi Urban Resettlement Colony, Delhi Rural (villages in Faridabad district of Haryana under Delhi-NCR), Bhubaneswar Rural, Gorakhpur rural, and Agartala rural.

The findings of the ongoing sero survey have been published on medRxiv, a pre-print server, and are based on a mid-term analysis of the data of the 4,509 participants — 700 children in the 2-17 years age group and 3,809 aged 18 years and above. The five selected sites are as follows — Delhi Urban Resettlement Colony, Delhi Rural (villages in Faridabad district of Haryana under Delhi-NCR), Bhubaneswar Rural, Gorakhpur rural, and Agartala rural. Data was collected between March 15 and June 10 from these selected sites.

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