India had estimated 74 million Covid-19 infections by August: ICMR's 2nd national serosurvey

Nearly seven per cent of India’s population aged ten and above was exposed to SARS-CoV-2, amounting to an estimated 74.3 million infections by August, with the seroprevalence being highest in urban slum areas followed by urban non-slum and rural areas, the findings of ICMR’s second national serosurvey stated.

According to the findings which have appeared in the Lancet Global Health pre-print, the overall seroprevalence of below 10 per cent in India indicates that a large proportion of the population remains susceptible to novel coronavirus infection.

“The transmission of infection is expected to continue in most Indian states till the herd immunity threshold is achieved, either by natural infection or vaccination. While this threshold is unknown, most estimates place it above 50 per cent,” the report said.