Study: Most people infected with COVID don’t even know it

The Omicron variant has given rise to the most secretive subtypes: BA.5. Currently, this relatively new mutation is behind most of the nearly 125,000 cases reported on 16 August.

But due to the popularity of home tests and COVID fatigue, cases are largely under-reported. In fact, a recent study by researchers at LA-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center showed that most people who were infected with COVID-19 didn’t even know they had the virus.

In the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers found that these uncontrolled infections may be why the variant spreads rapidly.

Of nearly 2,500 blood samples from patients collected before the omicron surge, researchers identified 210 people who likely had a COVID-19 infection.

The study’s first author and Cedars-Sinai investigator Sandy Y. “More than one out of every two people who were infected with Omicron didn’t know they had it,” Joung said in a press release. “Awareness will be key to allowing us to move forward from this pandemic.”

Symptoms of Omicron are less severe than symptoms of previous forms and usually include fatigue, cough, headache, sore throat and runny nose.

“The findings of our study provide evidence that uncontrolled infections can increase virus transmission,” Jong said. “Low levels of infection awareness have contributed to the rapid spread of Omicron.”

Through health surveys and interviews, researchers found:

• An estimated 44% of participants with new infections knew they had COVID-19.
• But most (56%) participants were unaware of their recent infection.
• And 10% thought they had a cold or a different type of infection.

What are the updated quarantine guidelines?

Now, vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine after exposure, but are recommended to wear masks for 10 days or until they test negative, as I mentioned earlier. Is.

“We are in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools – such as vaccinations, boosters and treatments – to protect ourselves and our communities from a serious illness from COVID-19,” Dr. Greta Masetti, author of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, in a press release issued by the CDC.

Can you protect yourself from Omicron?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that there is no evidence that the two new subtypes BA.4 and BA.5 are more severe than the others, but it is clear that immunity acquired through previous infection or vaccination may be associated with their Not as effective against it as I reported earlier.

Dr. Sandra Adams, professor of biology and virologist at Montclair State University, told NJ Advance Media that the new mutations allow the new strains to evade antibodies. “However, vaccines and previous infections still provide protection against serious disease,” she said.