5 Summary

This week you have been given an overview of the COVID-19 epidemic in the UK and the course of the vaccination programme during 2021. The programme prioritised vulnerable and older people, but by the end of the summer all adults had been offered vaccination.

You then carried out an investigation to measure the prevalence and titres of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV2 spike protein (S-antibodies) in a group of individuals selected from August 2021. Using your own data, you were able to estimate the percentage of the adult population who had some immunity to the virus at this time. You also carried out comparisons of the antibody titres in females vs males and older vs younger individuals.

This type of data can be used to track epidemics and inform vaccination programmes. Next week, you will learn exactly how infection rates, herd immunity and vaccine effectiveness are related.

You are now halfway through the course. The Open University would really appreciate your feedback and suggestions for future improvement in our optional end-of-course survey [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , which you will also have an opportunity to complete at the end of Week 8. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

Now go to Week 5.