Says 78 percent of school children have also developed antibodies as per Sero-Surveillance conducted in July this year.
Professor and HoD, Community Medicine, SPM, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, Dr. S. Muhammad Salim Khan Friday said that as per the Sero-Surveillance conducted in the month of July this year 84 percent population of Kashmir has developed antibodies against the Covid-19, and 78 percent school children have also developed the antibodies.
Dr. Salim said that the transmission of the virus is very rapid which is worrying, however, the vaccination has a critical role to play in the fight against the Covid19 and at this moment around 1 crore, 30 thousand vaccine doses have been administered already.
He said that Jammu and Kashmir are still witnessing the cases of Covid19 including a few deaths over the past few days.
“The Covid-19 cases compared to 2nd wave are going down slightly, but cases are still being reported. Till now more than 1 crore 60 lakh Covid-19 tests have been done in Jammu Kashmir, out of which 3 lac 3 thousand have been found positive from the last 1 and half years. The situation is being monitored continuously for necessary action,” he said.
He also said that whenever anything happens, their job is to do research and reach out to the entire population. “In this case we have done the research, to find if the population has developed antibodies against Covid-19. Ss per the Sero-Surveillance conducted in the month of July this year 84 percent population of Kashmir has developed antibodies against the Covid-19, and 78 percent school children have also developed the antibodies,” he said.
He said that the government will very soon come up with the vaccination for school-going children, and the government is continuously monitoring the situation for reopening of schools.
“Whenever the government will ask about reopening of schools, we will come up with the data we have with us. We have scientific data with us, whenever government asks us to suggest in reopening of schools, we will provide them the data,” Dr. Salim said.
He also said that the winter is advancing, and there will be intensive cold, so he would urge people to follow the SoPs, wear face masks, and take all other precautions.
He further said that those who are not vaccinated yet should come forward for vaccination at the earliest.
