Seroprevalence of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among the adult population of Ukraine

Implementation period: May 2021 – September 2021.

Project manager: Trofymenko O.

Objectives:

The aim of the study is to determine the level of prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among the adult population of Ukraine, which will allow:

• assess the intensity of COVID-19 epidemic, supplement the data of routine epidemiological surveillance and indirectly assess its effectiveness;
• identify the most affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection population groups (by age, sex, area of ??residence etc.) and form hypotheses regarding possible demographic and behavioral risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection;
• describe access to diagnostics, in particular, laboratory diagnostics, of patients with suspected COVID-19, to determine the proportion of asymptomatic cases and other features of the course as reported by study participants;
• to develop mechanisms and procedures for conducting seroprevalence studies to complement the epidemiological surveillance system for priority infectious diseases at the national and regional levels.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research is a one-time cross-sectional research and consists of two components – medical and sociological.

The research is carried out in partnership by five organizations:

1. State Institution “Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”
2. Public organization “Ukrainian Institute for Social Research named after Oleksandr Yaremenko”
3. Private enterprise “Center of Social Expertises named after Yuri Saenko “
4. Limited Liability Company “ML”Dila”
5. Public organization “Red Cross Ukraine”

The study involves venous blood sample collection with the subsequent determination of IgG antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as an evidence of a previous infection, as well as conduction of a survey directly in the household. Blood sampling and interviewing is carried out by mobile teams formed by regional study teams.

The analysis of the answers to the question in combination with the results of laboratory tests will provide answers to the following:

• How many people actually had COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic?
• Did these people get to the doctor and official statistics?
• Do they know they were sick?
• To what extent is the population of Ukraine covered by laboratory tests?
• What behaviour or other characteristics are associated with the risk of infection?

Link to the website of the PHC: https://phc.org.ua/news/v-ukraini-vpershe-provedut-vseukrainske-doslidzhennya-schodo-poshirenosti-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR1FGsRADNKWR6Oe3nhF0P7hca6pukRg