Blood donors in the Netherlands have many antibodies against corona. That’s because more than three-quarters of donors have been infected in the past six months. This is apparent from the latest measurement by blood bank Sanquin among 2000 donors.
A year ago, only one in five blood donors had experienced a corona infection. A previous measurement by Sanquin, last February, already showed that the number of infections among donors rose sharply. This is also apparent from the latest figures. 77 percent of donors have now had corona. Among young people up to the age of 25, that percentage rises to 90 percent. About 60 percent of people over 70 have had the virus at one time.
“Omikron has given the world a helping hand,” says Hans Zaaijer, medical microbiologist at Sanquin. “That variant turns out to be more contagious, but also less sickening. For example, last summer we trained our immune system in a relatively mild way.”
More antibodies in the elderly
At the end of last year, measurements by Sanquin showed that the amount of antibodies in the blood fell sharply among Dutch donors. But after all the vaccinations and infections with omikron, it appears that older donors have higher amounts. ,,These now also sink less quickly”, says Zaaijer.
“With winter approaching, this is good news. You can expect that more moments of infection will take place in the coming months if people gather in warmer and closed spaces. Then it helps if you already have antibodies.”
Has corona started the autumn wave? The RIVM fears it, you can read in this story.
Zaaijer points out that people can still get infected, but the chance of a serious illness or admission is considerably smaller.
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