Majority of children have virus antibodies

Around seven in 10 older primary school children are likely to have Covid-19 antibodies, new analysis suggests.

The estimates, for eight to 11-year-olds, vary around the country but indicate 71.2% of youngsters in the age group in England have the antibodies – which suggests someone has had the infection in the past or has been vaccinated.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) say that, because only a tiny number of children aged eight to 11 have received any Covid-19 vaccine, almost everyone in the age group with antibodies will have them due to a coronavirus infection.

It takes between two and three weeks after infection - or vaccination - for the human body to make enough antibodies to fight the virus.

Antibodies then remain in the blood at low levels, although these levels can decline over time.

The figures have been calculated based on a sample of blood test results for the week beginning January 10.

They show how antibody levels among older primary school children are likely to have jumped sharply during the recent surge in infections driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

In England the estimate has risen from 55.9% of eight to 11-year-olds at the start of December to 71.2% by early January.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended in December that five to 11-year-olds in clinically vulnerable groups should now be offered two doses of Covid-19 vaccine, delivered eight weeks apart.

This roll-out was only just getting under way in the period covered by the latest antibody estimates.