Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies From a National Serosurveillance of Kenyan Blood Donors, January-March 2021

Abstract

High SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels have been achieved in most of the population in high-income countries through vaccination. 1 However, global inequity exists in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, as highlighted at the June 2021 G7 Summit, which committed to providing 1 billion doses to low-income countries. This focus on doses overlooks the pace of transmission in low-income settings.To monitor seroprevalence in Kenya, we began surveillance of blood donors (aged 16-64 years) in April 2020. 2,3 The national prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was estimated at 4.3% in April to June 2020 2 and 9.1% in August to September 2020. 3 In this article we estimate seroprevalence for January to March 2021.Methods | The sampling, laboratory, and analytic methods were identical to those in the studies conducted in 2020. 2,3 Plasma samples with complete donor demographic data and suffi-

COVID-19 vaccine strategies must focus on severe disease and global equity

“…The third consideration is that seroprevalence is now high in countries with substantial community transmission and low vaccine coverage due to supply constraints. For example in Kenya, seroprevalence increased from 4% in June, 2020, to 49% by March, 2021, when vaccine coverage was 2%, 40 and in the Central African Republic was recently estimated to have reached 80%. 5 On June 30, 2021, before delta resurgence, modelled global seroprevalence by region ranged from 70% in southeast Asia and 50% in Africa to around 1% in the western Pacific.…”

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in women attending antenatal care in eastern Ethiopia: a facility-based surveillance

“…The principal limitation of this group is their restriction on age and sex, however, in most settings, including other East African countries, seroprevalence does not vary significantly by sex and the cumulative incidence in women is likely to represent the infection history of both sexes. [15][16][17][18][19][20] Similarly, in most settings young adults are the group most likely to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 and so the seroprevalence estimates here are likely to represent the highest risk in the whole population; other age groups, particularly children and the elderly, are likely to have lower seroprevalence. 17 21 The WHO has deprecated the use of rapid tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies for individual diagnosis but recognises their potential value in research.…”

“…The mean (SD) number of children per mother was 1.5 (1.8). The median (IQR) gestational age at the first antenatal visit was 20 (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28) weeks. Only 51 (3.5%) for trend for the whole year, p=0.003; figure 1).…”

A methods review of the “healthy donor effect” in studies of long‐term health outcomes in blood donors

“…Also, some donor populations are described to be less healthy 38 and this may also impact the level of HDE in studies examining health outcomes. Further, there is an increasing trend of using blood samples collected from blood donors to measure the sero-prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 39,40 and such studies should carefully examine how the health and demographic differences between the background population and blood donor population may impact the result of their studies.…”