Coronavirus: low level of antibodies present in China’s population and vaccine is needed ‘urgently’, says country’s leading expert Zhong Nanshan

Study conducted in Wuhan, the initial centre of the outbreak, and Guangzhou finds tiny proportion of population had developed antibodies

Strict isolation and community measures should be continued until a vaccine is available, says a paper led by Zhong

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China’s leading infectious disease expert Zhong Nanshan. Photo: Thomas Yau

Published: 12:00pm, 22 Jul 2020Updated: 4:24pm, 22 Jul 2020

A Covid-19 survey led by China’s top respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan found that the population immunity was at a low level, underlining the “urgent need” for a vaccine.

The survey tested the presence of antibodies in the serum of over 16,000 people who had not fallen ill from the disease in Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the pandemic, and the southern city of Guangzhou.

It found only 2.14 per cent and 0.59 per cent of people in the respective cities had Sars-CoV-2 antibodies by the end of April.

“The relatively low [level] suggests that prevention and control measures in China are effective,” the researchers wrote in a letter published in the journal Cell Research on Monday.

“[But] whether inside or outside the epicentre of the outbreak, the population immunity is still at a low level. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an effective vaccine against Sars-CoV-2, and strict isolation and community measures should be continued until such a vaccine is available,” they wrote.

Zhong, who played a key role in the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), told a public forum last month that it would need at least 60 to 70 per cent of a country’s population to have the antibodies before herd immunity could be attained, and it should happen through vaccination rather than naturally.