3rd sero survey to begin in Haryana on June 15

CHANDIGARH: Haryana health minister Anil Vij will launch the third round of sero survey on June 15 to determine the prevalence of coronavirus antibodies in the community, especially among children aged between six to 17 years — a group which has been excluded from vaccination.

Additional chief secretary, health, Rajeev Arora said the study will also help determine the effect and efficacy of vaccination. “It will help us plan and strengthen our paediatric services, including establishment and upscale of intensive care units. The study will flag susceptible populations and areas in the state and help us channelise and prioritise the vaccination drive in these areas.”

He said the third round of the survey was being conducted is to identify the impact of the second wave of the virus on the community.

“Children aged six years and above have also been included to assess seroprevalence among them,” he said.

The state has already conducted two sero surveys.

539 new virus cases, 32 deaths in state

Continuing the downward trend in cases, Haryana reported 539 coronavirus infections, 1,221 recoveries and 32 deaths on Thursday.

Active infections stand at 6,365. Health authorities tested 39,189 people for the virus. As per the medical bulletin, the state’s positivity rate has dropped to 1.42% while the recovery rate has increased to 98%. As many as 1,22,371 people received the jab on Thursda.

With 618 active cases, Hisar is the worst-affected district, followed by Sirsa with 570 active cases, Gurugram (498), Karnal (480), Jind (380), Panipat and Panchkula (375 each), Faridabad (357), Bhiwani (345), Kurukshetra (339) and Ambala (299).