England’s vaccination programme is starting to pay off, with the over-80s age group now the most likely to test positive for coronavirus antibodies, Office for National Statistics testing suggests.
Blood tests reveal more over-80s than any other age group in England are showing signs of some immunity against Covid infection.
People have antibodies to Covid if they’ve had an infection in the last few months or if they have been vaccinated.
Previously, younger age groups who were more likely to be exposed to the virus were the most likely to test positive for antibodies.
In England, 41% of over-80s tested positive for antibodies, which the ONS said was “most likely due to the high vaccination rate in this group”.
Two weeks ago that figure was 26%.
It takes two to three weeks for immunity to build after vaccination.