CDC Finds 75 Percent of Children and Teens in the United States Had COVID-19 by February 2022

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC COVID-19 Children with COVID-19 Teens With COVID-19 COVID-19 Infection Omicron

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Apr 27, 08:58 am

Photo: (Photo : Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that more than half of the people in the United States had antibodies for COVID-19 by the end of February. In particular, children and teens were hit especially hard by the omicron variant through the winter, with antibodies found in three-quarters of the largely unvaccinated population.

NBC News reported that the CDC examined blood samples taken from all age groups in the study, with the national public health agency testing for specific antibodies that develop only after infection from COVID.

Dr. Kristie Clarke, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC, focused on pediatric health and the lead author of the new report told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday, April 26, that this study was only looking at the presence of antibodies from prior infection and did not detect antibodies from prior vaccination or boosting.

No age group spared from omicron variant

The report discovered that no age group was spared from the omicron variant, which started wreaking havoc across the United States in December 2021. Overall, antibodies in the general population in the U.S. increased from 33.5 percent in December to 57.7 percent in February.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said that this should not be interpreted to mean that antibodies from prior infection are equal to adequate protection against future illness.

Walensky said they don't know whether that protection has waned, and they don't know much about that level of protection as they do about the protection that people get from vaccines and boosters. She added that the CDC still encourages those with detectable antibodies from prior infection to get vaccinated for added protection.

The CDC report found that the increase in COVID cases was most significant in children: from 44.2 percent in December to 75.2 percent in February among kids ages 11 and younger. Voice of America reported that the percentages were almost identical for children ages 12 to 17.

New COVID infections continue to target kids

The findings in the study reflect record numbers of COVID-19 cases among children reported during the omicron surge. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported a spike in children hospitalized with COVID in January.

Walensky also said that they continue to believe that those who are vaccinated, especially those who are boosted, continue to have strong protection against severe disease.

New COVID infections continue to target children. The American Academy of Pediatrics just said this past Monday that new cases of pediatric COVID have increased by 43 percent over the past two weeks.

Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE announced on Tuesday, April 26, that they had submitted an application to the United States health regulator to authorize a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, according to a report by Reuters.