China News Service, July 21, reported that a survey published on the 20th showed that as many as two-thirds of the population in India have antibodies to the new coronavirus.

Another study believes that the actual death toll from the new crown in India may be as high as 4 million, about ten times the official figure.

Data map: May 6, 2021, local time, New Delhi, India. Medical staff take care of patients with new coronary pneumonia in the ICU ward of the Holy Family Hospital.

Image source: Visual China

[Survey says that two-thirds of India’s population has COVID-19 antibodies]

　　India's fourth national serum antibody test survey was conducted in June and July, and the survey subjects included 29,000 people from all over the country.

This time, the survey included 8,691 children and adolescents from 6 to 17 years old for the first time, and half of them were found to be seropositive.

　　Among adults, 67.6% of those tested were seropositive. However, more than 62% of the adults surveyed were not vaccinated.

As of July, only over 8% of eligible adult Indians had received two doses of the vaccine.

　　The last serosurvey was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021, and the seroprevalence rate at that time was 24.1%.

Officials emphasized that the rise in the seroprevalence rate was caused by two factors-the second wave of the epidemic and the vaccination.

　　Currently, the number of new daily cases in India has fallen to its lowest point in four months.

But experts warned against reopening the city quickly and expressed concern about overcrowding in tourist attractions.

　　“The second wave of the epidemic is still going on. The risk of another outbreak is very high,” said Vinod Kumar Paul, a senior government adviser, at a news conference.

He said, “Because one-third of the population does not have antibodies, no matter where you are... there is still a risk of infection, so the pandemic cannot be said to be over.”

[The actual number of deaths is ten times the official data?

】

　　Another new study shows that the actual number of deaths from the new crown in India may be nearly 10 times higher than the official number reported by the country.

According to a report issued by researchers from the Center for Global Development and Harvard University, the study shows that from January 2020 to June 2021, the number of excess deaths in India (referring to the number of deaths exceeding normal expectations) is between 3.4 million and 4.7 million .

　　An estimate in the study puts India’s new crown death toll at about 4 million, which is about 10 times the official statistics.

The report said: "The real death toll may be millions, not hundreds of thousands."

　　According to the report, when the epidemic in India reached its peak in April and May, hospitals across the country were forced to refuse to accept patients, and many people died at home. These patients are usually not tested by the hospital.