High seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 infection in South America, but still not enough for herd immunity!

Herd immunity is considered to be a relevant aspect of COVID-19 epidemiology. In this regard, seropreva-lence studies are essential for understanding how far countries and regions are from that potential point. This study analyzed seroprevalence data in nine studies from South America, which is a region that has been badly affected by COVID-19. Seroprevalence values were high, with percentages up to 70.0% (95% CI 67.0-73.4%) in Iquitos, Peru. A meta-analysis of such data enabled a pooled seroprevalence to be ob-tained, estimated at 33.6% (95% CI 28.6-38.5%). Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic in South America continues to significantly affect countries such as Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

Research on seroprevalence in South America shows high levels of antibodies in some areas, but the region continues to be significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.