National population prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Scotland during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health
; 198: 102-105, 2021 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1364418
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Studies that measure the prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ('seroprevalence') are essential to understand population exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. We aimed to measure seroprevalence in the Scottish population over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic - from before the first recorded case in Scotland through to the second pandemic wave. STUDYDESIGN:
The study design of this study is serial cross sectional.METHODS:
We tested 41,477 residual samples retrieved from primary and antenatal care settings across Scotland for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over a 12-month period from December 2019-December 2020 (before rollout of COVID-19 vaccination). Five-weekly rolling seroprevalence estimates were adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the assays and weighted to reference populations. Temporal trends in seroprevalence estimates and weekly SARS-CoV-2 notifications were compared.RESULTS:
Five-weekly rolling seroprevalence rates were 0% until the end of March, when they increased contemporaneously with the first pandemic wave. Seroprevalence rates remained stable through the summer (range 3%-5%) during a period of social restrictions, after which they increased concurrently with the second wave, reaching 9.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.4%-10.8%) in the week beginning 28th December in 2020. Seroprevalence rates were lower in rural vs. urban areas (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.70, 95% CI 0.61-0.79) and among individuals aged 20-39 years and 60 years and older (AOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.64-0.86; AOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.91, respectively) relative to those aged 0-19 years.CONCLUSIONS:
After two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, less than one in ten individuals in the Scottish population had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Seroprevalence may underestimate the true population exposure as a result of waning antibodies among individuals who were infected early in the first wave.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Public Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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