Vice President of LSI and former Minister of Health Petrit Vasili has cautioned against the announcement from the Academy of Sciences that 50% of the population in Tirana is immune from COVID-19.
In a statement yesterday, he noted that it’s a “big figure for a small study”.
The Academy of Sciences, the country’s highest scientific authority said that according to their study, 25% of the population has been infected with COVID-19, rising to 50% in Tirana.
They sampled just 817 individuals who they say represent the sample population of neighbourhoods with 258,000 people. Out of the 817 tested, 405 were positive for antibodies.
Vasili noted that “the published figure where it’s assumed that about 50% of the population of Tirana has passed COVID is undoubtedly a very courageous figure when you see the very small amount of data.”
He elaborated that there are many uncertainties about the data including how it impacts people, chaotic official data, and the behavior of citizens. He said that it’s a confirmed fact that 2.9% of the population of Tirana have been confirmed with COVID-19, some 1300 people.
The Academy’s study also didn’t note that natural immunity to the virus is believed to last for just a few months.
The World Health Organization states that in most countries, less than 10% of the population have been infected with the virus.
