The Federal Ministry of Research (BMBF) has announced a representative study to measure the level of immunity to Sars-CoV-2 in the population and to determine which groups have particularly large vaccination gaps. The study is to be led by the Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck, and the first results are expected in September.
“The Covid 19 pandemic is not over yet,” said Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) when the study was presented on Friday. “We see a summer wave that reminds us to prepare well for winter.” So far, politicians have lacked data on the level of immunization in the population. The “Immunebridge” study should now provide this.
On the one hand, the basis is a survey of 16,500 people on their vaccination status, possible corona infections and other previous illnesses. The attitude towards the corona vaccination should also be determined in order to determine the degree of vaccination skepticism. In a next step, the respondents should receive a blood test by post, which they can carry out themselves. The sample is then examined in the laboratory in order to draw conclusions about the number of antibodies and any corona infections that may have gone unnoticed.
“It could be that certain risk groups have already completely lost their immunity.”
The virologist Hendrik Streeck said that one had to expect an increase in the corona numbers in autumn and winter. “How heavy the load on the intensive care units will be also depends on how high the basic immunity is.” The Robert Koch Institute also records the vaccination rate in the population. The proportion of people who have been vaccinated against Sars-CoV-2 three times is currently 61.6 percent. However, according to Streeck, underreporting is to be expected, and the vaccination rate could be up to five percent higher.
In addition, the vaccination rate alone does not say anything about how much immunity declines over time. The study aims to provide a more accurate picture of this by measuring antibodies. While the level of antibodies against the spike protein of the coronavirus primarily indicates a protective effect due to the vaccination, the number of nucleocapsid antibodies is also to be measured. They can be an indication of a corona infection that may have gone unnoticed.
The immunity of children should also be recorded.
The aim is to understand whether there are vaccination gaps in some social groups, “where you can then go in with a vaccination,” says Streck. It is conceivable, for example, that people with previous illnesses would have a special need for further vaccination. “It could also be that certain risk groups have already completely lost their immunity,” Streck continued.
A difficulty with such a study is generally to form a sufficiently large, representative sample from the population. The survey institute Infratest dimap is responsible for this, which according to Streeck already has such a representative panel. The group was therefore put together from users of the “Payback” bonus system, and is already being consulted for election polls, for example. Since the people have already given their consent to be contacted, the surveys could start next week, according to Streeck. In addition, the study includes cohorts of minors who are running at various universities in order to also record the immunity of children.
The BMBF is funding the study, which is scheduled to run until December, with a total of three million euros. The first results should be available in September, i.e. according to the hopes of the initiators before the start of the autumn wave.