Lowest antibodies rate registered in Balearics

THE Balearic Islands have experienced a less extensive spread of Covid-19 than other parts of Spain, but the archipelago now has the lowest rate of any region for people with antibodies to the virus.
Just 1.4 per cent of the archipelago’s population have antibodies to Covid-19, according to the latest round of a nationwide Health Ministry and Carlos III Health Institute seroprevalence study.
This compares with a national average of 5.2 and rates of around 10 per cent in parts of the country particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic like Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha.
The latest percentage for the Balearics is down on the 1.8 per cent of islanders who tested positive for antibodies in the first round of the study, which was carried out from April 27 to May 11, and the 1.5 per cent in the second, carried out between May 18 and June 1.
The test for the final round ran from June 8 to 22.
National Epidemiology Centre director Marina Pollan did however make the point that not being able to detect antibodies in a person anymore does not necessarily mean they are not immunologically protected.
She also explained the study showed the “loss” of antibodies was most common in people who were asymptomatic.