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More than 50 per cent of the children in Mumbai have developed antibodies to fight against Covid-19, according to a sero-survey carried out in metropolis between January and June this year when the ferocious second coronavirus wave was sweeping across the country.</p>
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The sero-survey for SARS-CoV-2 infection among the paediatric population of Mumbai was conducted by BYL Nair Hospital and Kasturba Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory of the BrihanMumbai&nbsp;&nbsp; Municipal Corporation (BMC) in order to be prepared for the danger that children could face in case a third coronavirus wave hits the country.</p>
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&quot;This is good news because it shows that at least half the population below 18 is protected from COVID-19, but we will make sure that we don&#39;t let our guard down,&quot; Suresh Kakani, Mumbai&#39;s Additional Municipal Commissioner who oversaw the survey, said.</p>
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An estimated 1.5 million of Mumbai&#39;s 12.8 million population are younger than 18, and none of them have been vaccinated as India has not approved any shots for children, he said.</p>
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<strong>Mumbai would repeat the survey every three months, he added.</strong></p>
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The survey has found that more than 50 per cent of the paediatric population in health care settings has antibodies to Covid-19. Seropositivity is highest in the age group 10-14 years, at 53.43 per cent. The sero-positivity rate of 1-4 years is 51.04 per cent, 5-9 years is 47.33 per cent, 10-14 years is 53.43 per cent, from 15-18 years it is 51.39 per cent. The overall sero-positivity rate of 1-18 years is 51.18 per cent.</p>
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There is also a significant increase in the seropositivity in children to SARS-CoV-2 in this study as compared to Serosurvey 3 conducted in March 2021 which showed a sero-positivity of 39.4 per cent in the age group of 18 or more years. This indicates that a large number of children accessing the healthcare services were exposed to the virus during the second wave of Covid-19.</p>
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The blood samples were made available from the samples received in laboratories for various medical investigations and were transported from public and private laboratories to Kasturba Molecular Laboratory.</p>
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Across 24 wards of Mumbai, a total of 2,176 blood samples were collected from pathology laboratories.</p>
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