Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Vaccinated and Non-Vaccinated Adults in the West Bank: Results of a Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

  1. Faisal Awartani
  2. Nouar Mohammad Qutob
  3. Mohammad Rajab Asia

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Abstract

Seroprevalence studies provide an accurate measure of SARS-CoV-2 spread at a population level and the number of undiagnosed individuals. Repeated cross-sectional sero-studies are encouraged to monitor the spread of the virus. The aim of this study is to assess the seroprevalence rate among a random sample of Palestinians residing in the West Bank region of Palestine, especially among those who were not vaccinated and not diagnosed. The study was able to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic cases among the Palestinian adult population. The study also focused on measuring the percentage of adult Palestinians who accepted to get vaccinated across gender and age groups. Methods: This second round cross-sectional study involved 1451 participants, who agreed to be interviewed and answer the questionnaire, where 910 of them agreed to participate in the sero-study and donate a blood sample to be tested for antibodies. The sample was randomly selected from the adult population, 18 years or older, living in the West Bank region of Palestine. Serological tests for 910 adequate serum samples were performed using immunoassays for the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Sociodemographic information and medical history data were collected. Results: Study findings indicate that as of October 2021, there was a seroprevalence rate of 75.9% (30% due to infection with COVID-19 virus and 45.9% due to vaccination) with 95% CI (73.1–78.7). The results indicate that the prevalence of antibodies among those who are unvaccinated and undiagnosed was 45.2% with 95% CI (39.9–50.5%). The average age of participants was 37.6 years old. A total of 49.2% were females, and 50.8% were males. In relation to COVID-19, 13.6% of respondents reported getting infected by COVID-19 with statistically significant difference (p-value = 0.001) between males (10.7%) and females (16.5%). In terms of vaccination, 52.8% of respondents reported getting vaccinated with an important difference between males (64.3%) and females (40.9%), (p-value < 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings reveal a drastic rise in seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies due to infection and vaccination. This information is useful for assessing the degree of herd immunity among the adult population and provides better understanding of the pandemic. Population-based seroprevalence studies should be conducted periodically to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Palestine and inform policy makers about the efficacy of the surveillance system and the public compliance with vaccination policies especially among females.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.3390/vaccines10081332
  2. Version published to 10.1101/2022.05.06.22274755v3 on medRxiv
  3. Version published to 10.1101/2022.05.06.22274755v2 on medRxiv
  4. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2022.05.06.22274755: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsIRB: Approval from the National Ethical Committee was obtained (PHRC/HC/737/20).
    Consent: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before the interview and the blood sampling and approval of utilization of tests was obtained from Medicare laboratories Participation was completely voluntary and all participants were informed that all the information collected would be anonymous and treated as confidential.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    RandomizationStudy design and participants: This second cross-sectional study was conducted between September 14, 2021 and October 21, 2021 on a random sample of adults aged 18 years and above residing in 11 governorates in the West Bank, Palestine.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Upon the interview, participants were asked if they would like to get tested for antibodies against COVID-19.
    COVID-19
    suggested: None
    Sars-CoV-2 Antibody Testing Presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated with the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay by using the Cobas Analyzer cobas e 411 (Roche) at the Arab American University of Palestine Laboratory.
    SARS-CoV-2
    suggested: None
    Samples from vaccinated and recovered persons with detected SARS-CoV-2 anti N and SARS-CoV-2 anti S antibodies were run as positive controls.
    anti N
    suggested: None
    anti S
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  5. Version published to 10.1101/2022.05.06.22274755v1 on medRxiv