People over 80 are now the most likely age group in England to have antibodies against the coronavirus as the vaccine programme starts to kick in.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey, 25.7 per cent of those aged 80 and above tested positive for antibodies to Sars-Cov-2. Among 75 to 79 year olds, who were mostly vaccinated later, the figure was 8.4 per cent.
Overall in England the ONS estimates that one person in seven has antibodies against the virus, mainly indicating past infection.
It says that 15.3 per cent of the population 6.9 million people would have tested positive for antibodies in the 28 days leading up to January 18.
That is up from 10.3 per cent