Srinagar,14 (GNS): Ahead of COVID-19 vaccination of health care providers, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar in collaboration with Directorate of Health Services and J&K National Health Mission conducted sero prevalence survey across all associated hospitals of GMC Srinagar, all districts hospitals of Kashmir and associated hospitals of GMC Anantnag and Baramulla for SARS COV-2 specific IgG antibodies.
Over two thousand blood samples were collected while data was collected using Epicollect5, a customised mobile data platform. “This is the first study on health care providers across all districts of Kashmir division to know their antibodies status whether they have been exposed to SARS COV-2, a virus causing COVID disease,” said Dr. S. Muhammad Salim Khan, HOD Community Medicine Government Medical College Srinagar and principal investigator of the study to Global News Service.
The study conducted by Departments of Community Medicine and Biochemistry Government Medical College Srinagar with full support of respective medical Superintendents and nodal officers across Kashmir and in collaboration by National Health Mission Jammu and Kashmir shall also help us to have a baseline data prior to COVID vaccination and later we may check their antibody status once they are immunised with full course of COVID vaccines comprising two doses few weeks apart, which elicit IgG antibody response, Dr. Salim Khan said. (GNS)
