Tests for the immune response to the coronavirus are revealing thousands of people who were infected but never got severely ill. The findings suggest the virus is less deadly than it first appeared
"That 188,000 people represented about 11 times more people than conventional selective testing had identified in the state to that point," Menachemi says.For Menachemi and his team, it was like finally getting a glimpse of the entire coronavirus iceberg, instead of just the part above the water.
And the data allowed them to calculate something called the infection fatality rate — the odds that an infected person will die. Previously, scientists had relied on what's known as the case fatality rate, which calculates the odds that someone who develops symptoms will die. Indiana's infection fatality rate turned out to be about 0.58%, or roughly one death for every 172 people who got infected. And the results in Indiana are similar to those suggested by antibody studies in several other areas. In New York, for example, anStudies in Florida and California have suggested even lower fatality rates, but the results are less certain, Rivers says. "They may have enrolled people who are more likely to have been infected than would be ideal," she says, which would lead to an overestimate of infections and an underestimate of the infection fatality rate.in Santa Clara County, Calif., used Facebook ads to find participants — a tactic unlikely to attract a random sample. Also antibody studies become less accurate when conducted in areas where the prevalence of infections is low. Calculating infection fatality rates in the U.S. is very useful for researchers, but less so for individuals who have been infected, Rivers says. "Thankfully, children and young adults are at low risk of severe illness and death," she says."But older adults are at quite high risk." Studies suggest a healthy young person's chance of dying from an infection is less than 1 in 1,000. But for someone in poor health in their 90s, it can be greater than 1 in 10.Juliette Unwin"Places like Maine and Florida, we find that the infection fatality ratio is higher than in other places where the demographic is younger," she says. Unwin is part of a large team in the U.K. that is monitoring both infection and mortality from the coronavirus in the U.S. The team puts the infection fatality rate for the U.S. at somewhere between 0.7% and 1.2%., a senior lecturer at Imperial College London."But I don't think we have it an order of magnitude out." To get a more precise estimate of infections and the infection fatality rate nationwide, the National Institutes of Health has launched an
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Antibody tests might be wrong half the time, CDC advisesThe US coronavirus outbreak has altered daily life in almost every way. Here's the latest updates on US Covid-19 cases, deaths, reopenings, the government response, unemployment and more.
Read more »
CDC Says Possibly 'Less Than Half' Of Positive Antibody Tests Are CorrectThe CDC has acknowledged that antibody tests used to determine if people have previously been infected with Covid-19 are not accurate enough to guide important policy decisions.
Read more »
Antibody tests for Covid-19 wrong up to half the time, CDC saysAntibody tests used to determine if people have been infected in the past with Covid-19 might be wrong up to half the time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance posted on its website.
Read more »
CDC Says Possibly 'Less Than Half' Of Positive Antibody Tests Are CorrectThe CDC has acknowledged that antibody tests used to determine if people have previously been infected with Covid-19 are not accurate enough to guide important policy decisions.
Read more »
ER doctor on antibody tests: 'the truth is, they're not all that reliable'Dr. Dara Kass, an ER doctor currently treating covid patients at Columbia University Medical Center, joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss her own experience with antibody tests and provide guidance on them after the CDC issues a warning that fewer than half of those tests could be accurate. Dr. Kass says that their lack of reliability means 'we can't make large scale decisions yet' based on the information they give.
Read more »
COVID-19 Antibody Tests Can Be Wrong Half The Time, CDC SaysThese blood tests have significant margins of error and should not be used to make public health recommendations, the CDC said.
Read more »