The researchers analyzed data from 7,000 people who regularly completed questionnaires about their contacts during the first corona wave. Their blood was also tested for antibodies, which can be used to show that someone has come into contact with the virus. At the time, 5.5 percent of people who did not adhere to the distance rules had antibodies in their blood. Of the participants who said they did, 4 percent produced antibodies. So among the people who kept their distance, the number of infections was 27 percent lower.
Large group meetings also lead to more infections, the research shows. Of those who reported attending an indoor meeting with more than 20 people, 6.2 percent were found to have antibodies in their blood. That percentage was one and a half times higher than among people who indicated that they had not attended any meetings at all.
Antibodies
Many more people now have antibodies in their blood. A sample from the Sanquin blood bank recently showed that it concerns more than one in five blood donors. They also include people who have been vaccinated.
The RIVM research results are published in the scientific journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. It also showed that people who had close contact with children under the age of 10 were hardly infected with the virus. “The blood of these participants contained no more antibodies than those of participants who indicated that they had not had any contact at all,” the institute reports.
New virus variants, such as the British variant that is now dominant, did not exist when the study was conducted. ‘It is precisely because of the higher contagiousness of these variants that it is important to keep sufficient distance,’ emphasizes the RIVM.
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