Actual Covid-19 infection rate in the US may be more than double official CDC figures, study says

Researchers say their estimates ‘implied more than twice the number of infections than cases reported’ to CDC, ‘suggesting a more widespread pandemic’

Virus Outbreak-Vaccines-Transplants (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The actual number of coronavirus infections throughout the United States could be twice as high as the daily tracking figures reported ahead of the deadly holiday surge late last year, according to a new study published on Tuesday. 

Researchers at the Clinical Reference Laboratory in Kansas surveyed blood samples from nearly 62,000 life insurance applicants, finding higher rates of Covid-19 antibodies in the pool of applicants compared to nationally reported estimates. 

According to the study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, nearly 16 million Covid-19 cases went undiagnosed or patients were otherwise asymptomatic ahead of the holiday season, when the country saw an unprecedented surge in the rate of infections and deaths nationwide, compared to CDC figures were estimated a total of nearly 7.2 million cases. 

The study comes as the latest available tracking data puts the official death toll in the US at approximately 535,000, though growing research indicates the true figures could be higher. 

The researchers wrote: “The overall number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US may be substantially higher than estimates based on public health case reporting.”

They added: “Our estimate implied more than twice the number of infections than cases reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggesting a more widespread pandemic.”

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Other reports have issued even starker warnings about the true figures behind the Covid crisis in the US, with one government model suggesting the country was well on its way to approaching 100 million total infections. 

That study, published in the November 25 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, found that nearly 53 million people in the US had been infected by the end of September, while lab-confirmed infections were placed at about seven million. 

Still, the researchers wrote at the time: “This indicates that approximately 84 per cent of the U.S. population has not yet been infected and thus most of the country remains at risk.”

The White House has committed to supplying enough vaccines for the entire US population by the summer, with President Joe Biden saying Americans may be able to congregate for the 4 July celebrations in small groups if the country continues to stay on track with reaching his goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. 

It remains unclear whether new strains of the virus, including some homegrown ones in the US that scientists have warned could be dangerous, will hinder the federal government’s vaccination and reopening plans. The leading manufacturers behind vaccines approved for use by the FDA, including Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, are testing new booster shots and conducting additional research on the various coronavirus mutations.