Areas of New York have recorded a nearly 70 per cent rate of immunity to Covid-19, in what scientists have described as “stunning” findings that suggest they could be protected from any second wave.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-hail-stunning-results-show-180918348.html
[Edit: I would prefer to re-direct from the Yahoo article, to the less-sensationalistic and more factual NY Times article to which it refers:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-antibodies.html
-The antibody tests were performed at a storefront clinic, "CityMD", between late April and late June
-They probably do NOT reflect a random sample of the population in those neighborhoods, since people who believe they had symptoms/were exposed are most likely to seek antibody testing
-Huge variation seen neighborhood to neighborhood from 68% to 56% to 17% in wealthier Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Key quotes: "Dr. Ted Long, the executive director of the city’s contact-tracing program, said that while much remained unknown about the strength and duration of the protection that antibodies offer, he was hopeful that hard-hit communities like Corona would have some degree of protection because of their high rate of positive tests. “We hope that that will confer greater herd immunity,” he said."
That's not quite "scientists hail STUNNING results". It's very hopeful for those people in poor neighborhoods who had to work in order to eat, maybe they'll be spared in a 2nd wave. But even there....because the results were from people who sought antibody testing, they may not reflect the overall population even in those neighborhoods:
"“For sure, the persons who are seeking antibody testing probably have a higher likelihood of being positive than the general population,” said Professor Nash. “If you went out in Corona (the Queens neighborhood) and tested a representative sample, it wouldn’t be 68 percent.”
My guess would be more like Chelsea, MA, around 30%. I could be wrong of course.
Overall the antibody positive rate was 26%, which agrees with the NYS Wadsworth survey. -Hap]