Following a record increase in COVID-19 cases during the Omicron wave, about 58 percent of the U.S. population as a whole and more than 75 percent of younger children have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, according to a national study. of blood in the United States was released on Tuesday.
A study of blood samples sent to laboratories between December and February – when Omicron cases raged – showed that children, many of whom remained unvaccinated, had the highest rates of infection during the jump, while people aged 65 and over years – highly vaccinated population – had the lowest.
The researchers looked for specific antibodies produced in response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that are present only after infection and are not generated by COVID-19 vaccines.
Read more: Unvaccinated people increase risk of COVID-19 infection among vaccinated: study
In children aged 11 and younger, 75.2% were positive for antibodies associated with infection from December to February, compared with 44.2% in the previous quarter.
In children aged 12-17 years, 74.2% carry antibodies, compared to 45.6% between September and December. The overall percentage is 33.5% for the whole population during this earlier period.
“The presence of antibodies caused by infection does not necessarily mean that you are protected against future infection,” said Christie Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during a media briefing to discuss the data. “We have not tested whether people have antibody levels that provide protection against re-infection or serious illness.
The CDC stressed that vaccination remains the surest strategy to prevent complications from COVID-19.
Samples were taken from commercial laboratories testing blood for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, such as routine medical care. Traditional disease surveillance methods do not cover all cases of COVID-19, as some are asymptomatic, undiagnosed or unreported, the CDC said.
The average sample size for the four-week period was 73,869, collected between September and January. That fell to 45,810 in February.
Overall, COVID-19 infection in the United States reached 80.8 million, an increase of 22.7% in the last week, and hospitalization increased by 6.6% over the previous week.
Read more: Canada has relaxed its travel rules again. What to know and how to protect yourself from COVID
While deaths fell 13.2 percent week-over-week, the United States is rapidly approaching the grim milestone of 1 million total COVID-related deaths.
More than 66 percent of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to federal data. Nearly 46% of these Americans have also received a booster dose so far.
© 2022 Reuters
Add Comment