View
comments
Nine in ten adults now have Covid antibodies as the vaccine rollout pushes Britain close to herd immunity, official data shows.
Blood testing by the Office for National Statistics found 89.8 per cent of over-16s in England have some immunity to the virus.
This is up from 79.6 per cent in May, reflecting the success of the vaccine rollout.
Antibodies are produced after vaccination or infection and fight off the virus.
The ONS data is based on tests of tens of thousands of adults in the week beginning June 14.
Nine in ten adults now have Covid antibodies as the vaccine rollout pushes Britain close to herd immunity, official data shows
Antibody levels were highest in older adults – 97 per cent of those aged between 60 and 79 tested positive.
But just six in ten of those aged 16 to 24 tested positive, meaning millions of younger adults remain susceptible.
Yet the data suggests the UK may be approaching herd immunity.
Experts believe around 85 per cent of the total population needs antibodies to reach
