As the number of Covid cases in Australia has become impossible to accurately determine using test and case numbers alone, epidemiologists say it is crucial to undertake population-wide surveys to understand both current levels of infection and cumulative past infections.
John Kaldor, a professor of epidemiology at University of New South Wales’s Kirby Institute, and his colleagues at other organisations conducted seroprevalence surveys in 2020 and 2021. They are hoping to conduct repeat surveys this year to better understand the spread of the Omicron outbreak. “Antibodies can fade, but people probably have some detectable antibodies at least six months after infection,” he said.
