The interim results of a representative immune study funded by the federal government show that many people in Germany are currently relatively well protected against a severe course of the corona virus – at least as far as the currently dominant BA.5 variant is concerned.

According to an immunity study, 95 percent of the population already have antibodies against the corona virus. According to the interim results of the so-called Immunebridge study, “the majority of people in Germany will be moderately to well protected against severe corona courses in the coming autumn and winter,” said Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger in Berlin.

“The immunity study is an essential contribution to improving the corona data situation,” emphasized Stark-Watzinger. Thanks to the study data, models could be improved to simulate different pandemic scenarios. “These also show that we are well positioned for autumn and winter,” said the minister. With a view to the decision-making scope of the federal states, this means: “You only have to resort to additional protective measures under the Infection Protection Act if a new, more dangerous variant should prevail.”

According to the authors, the study “covers the entire spectrum of infection epidemiology, from the general population to children and young people to the vulnerable risk groups”. In this way, the study results could make an important contribution to pandemic control in Germany. The virologist and “Immunebridge” spokesman Hendrik Streeck explained: “The study impressively shows how effectively networking science can work in Germany, especially because these results can be used sustainably for other projects.” 95 percent of the citizens in this country have now developed basic immunity.

“In the fight against the pandemic, this means that the number of infections is no longer primarily decisive, but how many patients are treated in the hospital ‘with’ Corona.” According to Streeck, the data also shows “that we have a clear immunity gap in the risk groups and that vaccination campaigns for people over 70 are urgently needed”. For the interim results of the study, data from more than 25,000 participants from eight different studies were included.

(This article was first published on Thursday, October 13, 2022.)