A recently published follow-up study by Tyrolean researchers has shown that by April 2022 around 96 percent of blood donors in Tyrol had antibodies against the coronavirus. In the broad study, which can draw on data from around 73,000 blood donations, a significant increase compared to autumn 2021 is visible, when antibodies could only be detected in 83 percent of the donors.
The majority of this meaningful cross-section of the population had antibodies from a corona vaccination or a corona infection, said Peter Willeit, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Medical University of Innsbruck, in the APA interview. “However, this does not mean that these people are completely protected from future infections,” Willeit emphasized. But: “We know from previous studies, for example in the Schwaz district or abroad, that the risk of infection is lower with higher antibody levels”.
Therefore, in the current study, which can access data up to June 2020, it is important to measure the level of antibody levels, according to the epidemiologist. “The average level has increased more than fivefold since autumn 2021,” Willeit named one result of the study, which ended in April 2022.
As before, the vaccination status in terms of antibodies and antibody levels is crucial, Willeit emphasized. “In the last month of the study, only two-thirds of people who stated that they were not vaccinated when donating blood had detectable antibodies, compared to 99.7 percent of those who were vaccinated,” he explained. In addition, it has been shown that the antibody level in vaccinated people is about 16 times higher on average.
The study findings are an important basis for any further studies, noted Harald Schennach, head of the blood bank of the tirol kliniken. Above all because the number of people examined for antibodies is so large: “By the end of the year we expect a total of 100,000 tests to be evaluated”. In any case, one hopes to be able to continue with this cooperation between the blood bank and Peter Willeit, according to Schennach. Together with the corona wastewater data, the corona antibody tests represent an important monitoring system. The state of Tyrol, which is promoting the study and investigation, would be supported in its measures, according to the blood bank boss.
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