ABSTRACT
Backgrounds: SARS-COV-2 infection is not always correlated with protection. Antibody seroprevalence in unvaccinated individuals, which is usually measured by N-specific antibodies, is not necessarily correlated with protection, while antibodies against S protein show a better correlation with protection due to its neutralizing epitopes. In this study, we tried to improve our conception of the hidden perspective of SARS-COV-2 in epidemiological reports and investigate anti-S antibody prevalence among anti-N antibody-positive asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients. Material(s) and Method(s): Blood samples were collected from asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic volunteer participants and symptomatic hospitalized patients with negative PCR results from May 30 to June 17, 2020. Detection of SARS-COV-2 antibodies was done using an ELISA kit targeting N or S protein. Finding(s): Totally, 716 samples from volunteer participants and 81 samples from symptomatic hospitalized patients with negative PCR results were evaluated. The test performance-adjusted seroprevalence (%95 CI) of SARS-COV-2 antibody was 17.3% (8.8-25.8%) for anti-N IgG in volunteers and 25.5% (12.8-39.7%) for anti-N and anti-S IgM in hospitalized patients. Among anti-N IgG positive infected individuals, %49.2 (21.4 and 78.8%) were anti-S antibody positive. Conclusion(s): The results showed that SARS-COV-2 infection sometimes occurs in individuals without symptoms or with mild symptoms, but in more than half of them, the produced antibody is not protective. The findings of hospitalized patients showed that the combination of IgM assay with real-time PCR improved the disease diagnosis by more than 25% in cases with negative molecular test results.Copyright © 2022, TMU Press.
ABSTRACT
Singapore has achieved impressive economic growth together with a high level of upward mobility since its independence in 1965. However, the growth process seems to have become more uneven, in addition to diminishing growth for a matured economy such as Singapore, which is also a highly open city-state subject to competitive forces from other economies. Recently, Singapore has fared well, evident from the 2020 social mobility findings reported by the World Economic Forum and the decline in the Gini coefficients for the past decade. This chapter discusses the education system in Singapore and the recently formed National Jobs Council, both important institutions for the advancement of social mobility, followed by some forthcoming policies on foreign manpower, and other related policies to tackle inequality and issues of social mobility. Covid-19 gave rise to four consecutive budgets addressing not just immediate and short-term concerns but also planning for recovery and growth in the future. This chapter examines the challenges to social mobility: future growth prospects and processes, fiscal sustainability expecting greater social spending, and opportunities for the middle-income class together with other familial challenges in Singapore. Using a simple model that endogenises inequality and upward mobility, the chapter analyses important past events and future scenarios: the past influx of and future reduction in migrant unskilled workers;preference shift towards equity;early education intervention;and jobs in the future. An office dedicated to coordinating and evaluating various social mobility programmes is recommended. Strengthening the social compact via policies encouraging concern for others will contribute a positive spillover to both social well-being and social mobility in Singapore. © 2020 section and editorial matter, Hain Teck Hoon.