A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is highlighting just how many Americans have been infected with COVID-19. The report further states how significantly the number has increased since the arrival of the highly infectious omicron variant late last year.
Increasing Cases of COVID-19
The report found case numbers were particularly striking in children, with three out of every four being infected, sending the total to 75% in February from about 45% in December. Among Americans of all ages, roughly 34% had signs of prior infection in December, rising to 58% in February. The researchers examined blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and looked for virus-fighting antibodies arising from infections, not vaccines.
The older people were, the less likely they had evidence of past infections, the study found. For those 65 and older, 19% had signs of prior infection in December and 33% did in February. That may be because older adults have higher vaccination rates and they may be more likely to take other COVID-19 precautions, such as wearing masks and avoiding crowds, Clarke said.
Protection against Diseases and Death
CDC officials stressed that the previously infected should still get COVID-19 vaccines, as they remain the best protection against severe disease and death. COVID-19 cases are rising again in the U.S., driven by the BA.2 variant of omicron, along with two subvariants that appear to be even more infectious. The two, named BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, were highlighted by health officials in New York state recently.
The U.S. is averaging 50,791 cases a day, according to a New York Times tracker, up 61% from two weeks ago. Cases are rising in almost all states and territories, in some cases more than doubling since the start of April. The country is averaging 15,908 hospitalizations a day, up 6% from two weeks ago, although still close to the lowest since the first weeks of the pandemic. The daily death toll has fallen below 400 to 362 on average. But the official death toll is expected to reach 1 million within weeks, and experts are warning that with many other parts of the world still unvaccinated, new variants may emerge.