Britain could have been close to herd immunity, say researchers

LEVELS of coronavirus at the peak of the pandemic were three times higher than officially recorded, potentially moving the UK closer to herd immunity, according to data from GPS’ surgeries.

Doctors recorded 8,985 suspected cases between Feb 14 and April 30 – treble the number found with Covid-19 at test centres over the same period.

The study, led by Queen Mary University of London, also found black, Asian and minority ethnic adults were twice as likely to present with suspected coronavirus than white adults.

The increased risk to mixed ethnicity groups was not necessarily due to other factors such as health conditions, obesity or social deprivation, the study said.

Lead author Dr Sally Hull, from Queen Mary, said: “Our results suggest that Covid-19 prevalence during the peak of the epidemic was higher than previously thought.

“The official Covid-19 test statistics are likely to have under-represented the extent of the epidemic, as many people with Covid-19 would not have been tested, including those with milder symptoms or who could not access test centres.”

The results of the peer-reviewed study were published in the British

Journal of General Practice.

Researchers looked at anonymised data from more than a million adults registered with 157 practices in four east London clinical commissioning groups at the pandemic’s peak.

Dr Hull added: “We now know ethnicity is still a risk factor even after you take account of social deprivation, longterm conditions and body mass.

“There is something else driving this, which urgently requires more research.”