A population-based study in Iceland shows a 0.3% mortality rate and durable antibody response to SARS-CoV-2. Ten months into the COVID-19 pandemic we still need a better understanding of many features of this disease, including the overall case-fatality rate and the durability of immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Now, investigators in Iceland have been able to perform a population-based study of the serologic response to SARS-CoV-2, thanks to the country's geographic isolation and centralized healthcare system. The researchers used six different SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody assays to survey 1237 individuals who had COVID-19 based on a positive quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test, 4222 individuals quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure, and 23,452 individuals without known exposure. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was defined as a positive result on two separate pan-immunoglobulin (pan-Ig) assays.
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