After analyzing hundreds of thousands of blood samples, the American Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) are positive: at least 58% of the population of the United States had contracted Covid-19 last February. .
This equates to nearly 190 million people across the country.
Knowing that the number of officially recorded cases amounts to 80 million, this means that most Americans who contracted Covid-19 were asymptomatic, undiagnosed or still not registered with the authorities.
To conduct this research, the CDC examined nearly 75,000 blood samples each month from September 2021 through January 2022, along with another 45,000 in February.
75% of people under 18 infected
These samples were analyzed in order to detect or not the presence of antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These are only created in response to contamination, while anti-Covid vaccines lead, for their part, to the creation of antibodies against the Spike protein.
Using statistical methods to weight age, gender and geographic distribution, the researchers were then able to produce national estimates. The results, for example, showed that around 75% of the population under the age of 18 contracted the virus. A colossal jump in cases, especially in children, was recorded during the wave of the Omicron variant last winter.
According to Kristie Clarke, co-lead of the national Covid-19 serology task force, the data also showed that “previous infection provided some protection against severe forms of the disease and hospitalizations”. The expert also stressed the need to be up to date with her vaccination since the latter “offers additional protection”.
At present, the United States offers a fourth dose of the vaccine to people aged 50 and over, and a third dose to people under that age. Nationally, the number of cases is going up due to Omicron’s subvariants, BA.2 and BA.2.12.1, but the death toll continues to fall. However, the symbolic bar of one million deaths is likely to be reached in the coming weeks.