Coronavirus study: Nine out of ten people in Germany have antibodies

Created: 07/22/2022, 21:48

By: Bettina Menzel

People waiting in front of a test site in Hanover: Around 90 percent of people in Germany currently have antibodies against corona - most thanks to the vaccination (archive image, November 2021).

© picture alliance/dpa |

Julian Stratenschulte

At the end of 2021, over 90 percent of people in Germany had antibodies against the corona virus.

However, only around a third were well protected against a serious illness.

Berlin – At the end of 2021, nine out of ten adults in Germany had antibodies against the corona virus.

This is the result of the study "Corona Monitoring nationwide - Wave 2", which the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) published on Thursday in cooperation with the Socio-Economic Panel at the German Institute for Economic Research.

However, only one in three was well protected against severe corona disease.

Antibodies against coronavirus: Almost all adults have them, but only a third of them have enough

By the turn of the year 2021/22, nine out of ten adults in Germany had antibodies against the corona virus.

About 90 percent of the adults were therefore vaccinated at least once and had further antigen contact through vaccination or infection - were therefore considered basic immunization.

"Almost a third of the over 18-year-olds had at least two vaccinations and another antigen contact," the authors of the study continue.

Accordingly, by the end of last year, only around every third adult in Germany was adequately protected against a serious illness from Corona.

Coronavirus vaccination reduces the number of infections

According to the study, by the end of last year only about one in ten adults in Germany had been infected with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus.

"This relatively low infection rate after a pandemic of around two years can be seen as a success of the measures to contain the pandemic," the researchers conclude.

According to the authors, the results also speak in favor of continuing to focus on improving vaccination protection, especially with regard to booster vaccinations.

According to experts, good protection against a serious illness is only possible if the immune system repeatedly deals with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

This can be achieved with a triple vaccination or with a combination of vaccination and infection.

The vaccination and in particular the third "prick", the so-called booster vaccination, are therefore decisive for good protection against a severe course.

Coronavirus study: The study is based on this data

The investigation as part of the "Corona Monitoring nationwide - Wave 2" study consisted of a survey and the analysis of a dried blood sample.

People aged 14 and over who were selected at random could take part.

11,160 people from 6760 households took part.

The subjects sent in capillary blood, which they took from their fingertips, and answered questions about their vaccination and infection status.

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The data basis were mostly samples from the months of November and December 2021 and thus from a time when the omicron wave was just beginning.

Accordingly, the millions of omicron infections since then have not been taken into account in the study.

The authors themselves point out methodological limitations that are common to all seroepidemiological studies.

Nevertheless, the results could contribute to an assessment of the vaccination and antibody status in the population, it said.

Corona virus: This is the current situation

The Corona numbers are currently rising again.

According to the RKI, the nationwide seven-day incidence was 729.3 on Friday morning, compared to only 488.7 people per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany who were proven to be infected with corona in the previous month.

However, the numbers only provide an incomplete picture, since not all infected people have a PCR test done - but only these results are included in the statistics.

The omicron wave is already causing extreme stress in German clinics.

"There hasn't been such an ongoing stress phase with such a high number of patients since the beginning of the pandemic," said Medical Director Professor Jens Maschmann from the Würzburg University Hospital on Friday.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has already warned that the currently dominant BA.5 variant is somewhat more dangerous than

.