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

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, Steven Riley and Paul Elliott ()
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Helen Ward: Imperial College London
Christina Atchison: Imperial College London
Matthew Whitaker: Imperial College London
Kylie E. C. Ainslie: Imperial College London
Joshua Elliott: Imperial College London
Lucy Okell: Imperial College London
Rozlyn Redd: Imperial College London
Deborah Ashby: Imperial College London
Christl A. Donnelly: Imperial College London
Wendy Barclay: National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
Ara Darzi: National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
Graham Cooke: National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre
Steven Riley: Imperial College London
Paul Elliott: Imperial College London

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21237-w

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