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A large-scale nationwide study of antibody levels has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study analysed blood samples collected from over 177,000 people across all 52 of the US states and jurisdictions between July and September 2020. Between 1-23% of people had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Variations were noted between jurisdictions and age groups, with no consistent differences nationally between sexes or metropolitan versus rural areas. Older age groups generally had lower percentages of positive antibodies.
In the vast majority of jurisdictions, less than 10% of the population had antibodies.
In the North East, where New York and New Jersey were early epicentres, around 23% of people had antibodies. This aligns with findings from previous studies where around 20% of people in New York had antibodies between February and July, and another which showed 14% had antibodies in April.
In the South 13% of people had antibodies and in the Midwest and West less than 10% of people had antibodies. Another previous study found antibody levels were around 3-4% in one county of California in April.
The authors conclude that the burden of infection may still be under-reported by their seroprevalence study. People who seek health-care may not represent the general population in the US; antibody levels in people who had asymptomatic or mild disease may vary from those who have severe disease; and declines in antibody levels have been observed over time. “Our results reinforce the need for continued public health preventive measures, including the use of face masks and social distancing, to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the US” they state.
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