In this article written by Kari Paul for The Guardian, we are introduced to a study from Stanford University which shows that the novel coronavirus could be more widespread than previously projected.
Extrapolating the results of the antibody tests in Sta. Clara county in California, the researchers state that the virus could be 50 to 85 times more common than the officail figures. Note that official stats in Sta. Clara shows that there are only 1,094 COVID-19 cases (at the time of writing), but the study estimated that around 48,000 to 81,000 individuals are probably already infected.
This study is far reaching implications as health officials need to know how many people are infected in a locality in order to know far along in epidemic they are, and whether imposed lockdowns can already be lifted.
Editor’s Note: Another implication of this research is that the official statistics on covid-related death rate are overestimated, and the virus is not as deadly as we thought. The study is also showing the importance of the appropriate way that randomized antibody testing can be used to determine whether collective immunity is starting to manifest in a population or not.
Read Online
Click the button below if you wish to read the article on the website where it was originally published.
Read Offline
Click the button below if you wish to read the article offline.
7 replies on “Antibody testing shows coronavirus infected a lot more people than previously thought”
[…] Antibody testing shows coronavirus infected a lot more people than previously thought […]
[…] showing that a lot more people have been infected by COVID-19 but are asymptomatic. (See here – Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought, and here – USC-LA County Antibody Suggests True COVID-19 Infections Higher Than Official […]
[…] and the reality that a majority of those infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic [see Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought, 90-95% Of COVID-19 Cases In Cebu Are Asymptomatic, USC-LA County Antibody Study Suggests True […]
[…] If we add those who are asymptomatic (typically not tested), and those who have already been infected but have developed antibodies, then the infection fatality rate will drop even more [See The Tale of Two Fatality Rates to understand the difference between case fatality rate and infection fatality rate, and why distinguishing between the two is important. Also read Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought]. […]
[…] infected by the coronavirus. This is the second antibody to come out with the same conclusion [read Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought). Higher rates of infection would decrease case fatality rates [see The Tale Of Two Fatality Rates […]
[…] Moreover, it also supports the claim that COVID-19 cases in the country are overestimated [see Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought and Death Rate, Science, Lockdown, Fear, The “New Normal”, Vaccines, Social Control And The […]
[…] coming in, confirming the decline of the growth rate of infections and death rate for COVID-19 [See Antibody Testing Shows Coronavirus Infected A Lot More People Than Previously Thought and COVID-19 Growth Rates Declining […]