Nearly 60% of Americans had Covid by Feb: Survey

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.

China’s outbreaks easing Shanghai hinted at an easing of lockdown measures as coronavirus infections dropped to the lowest in three weeks, while the number of new cases in Beijing remained below 50, in a potential sign authorities are starting to bring the twin outbreaks under control.

Cases in Shanghai fell for a fourth consecutive day to 13,562, though the city added another 48 fatalities.

While Shanghai remains in a lockdown that’s left much of the city’s 25 million residents confined to their homes for a month or more, an official signalled on Wednesday there may be some easing for certain areas.

The city will permit limited movement for limited groups of people in districts with basically no community spread of the virus, said Zhao Dandan, vice director of the municipal health commission.