PGIMER to start serological survey of children in Chandigarh

Chandigarh : In a first in the country, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here is going to start a serological survey of children in the age group of two to 18 years this month to check the prevalence of antibodies against the Sars-Cov-2 pathogen in them.

PGIMER Director Jagat Ram told the media on Saturday that the sample size of the survey would be 2,400 to 2,500, and it will be aimed at identifying the prevalence of Covid-19 at the community level and monitoring its transmission trends.

He said the results of the samples would be out within one month of the launch of the survey, given that an anticipated third wave is expected to affect children more than adults.

"Before the launch of the survey in the next seven to 10 days, we are working on its modalities like ethical clearance, logistic arrangement and planning, such as how many samples would be collected from Chandigarh's rural and urban areas and how many from the slums," the PGIMER Director explained.

"Since children have not been covered for vaccination against the virus, the result of the survey would help understand the prevalence of antibodies in them," he added.