‘58% of Americans had Covid-19 by February’

WASHINGTON: By February of this year, 58% of the US population - more than 190 million people - had been infected with Covid, according to an antibody survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published on Tuesday.

The figure is far higher than the 80 million officially recorded cases, with the majority of infections undiagnosed, asymptomatic or unreported.

Roughly 75% of people under 18 had been infected, according to a paper based on a nationally representative study of antibody levels. There was a surge during the winter Omicron wave, particularly among children.

Each month from September 2021 to January 2022, the study examined some 75,000 blood specimens taken from across the country, as well as 45,000 samples in February. The study examined only antibodies created in response to prior infection, not vaccination.

National estimates were then produced using statistical methods to weight by age, sex and metropolitan status.

“Having infection-induced antibodies does not necessarily mean you are protected against future infections,” said Kristie Clarke, co-lead for the national Covid-19 serology task force

Mass tests in Beijing, 48 more die in Shanghai Beijing continued testing for Covid-19 among its residents, anxious about an impending lockdown, with an expected 3.5 million in the city’s largest district, Chaoyang, lining up for their second round of tests under a gloomy sky and light rain on Wednesday.

The vast majority of Beijing’s around 22 million residents will be tested three times by Saturday. Mass tests are ongoing at 12 of the city’s 16 districts.

Overall, the Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 1,818 locally transmitted confirmed Covid-19 cases for the day before, of which 1,606 were in Shanghai.

“Tuesday saw 48 deaths from Covid-19, all in Shanghai, bringing the mainland’s total Covid-19 deaths to 4,876,” official news agency Xinhua reported, quoting the national health commission (NHC). Meanwhile, China has recorded its first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, but the risk of its spread among people is low, NHC said.

With inputs from Sutirtho Patranobis in Beijing