Thread by @john_actuary

The latest antibody study from ONS gives info re children for the first time, and we can also see clearly the impact of the booster on adults.

At older ages the higher threshold levels now monitored dropped rapidly before the booster restored them (and more...).

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Looking at children, the contrast in antibody levels between the vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts is very apparent.

It's noticeable how little levels have moved despite the Omicron surge, although the cut off date of Jan 3rd may be a little too early to see the effect.

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Note the modelled % of those age 12-15 who have been vaxxed is considerably higher than we see in other data, which may be a result of the population agreeing to participate in the survey being more favourable to vaccination than the general population.

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Overall, adult antibody levels (at the standard level) are put at around 98% - their highest level yet, a consequence primarily of the booster programme restoring levels in the older population.

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Regarding the higher threshold adopted (179ng/ml v 42 for standard), the study notes that this was set at a level appropriate for Delta, and it may be that a different level is required in the context of the current Omicron wave.

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A bit more information here as to how that level was arrived at, and thus why it is now believed that it's unlikely to be appropriate for Omicron.

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And the usual caveat here that antibodies form only one part of the body's defence against infection (before the "what about T-cell" comments come flying in!)

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Link to the study, which provides much more information regarding the methodology for those interested in finding out more.

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ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…