ISSN: 2639-2038
Authors: Stout RL* and Rigatti SJ
Introduction: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world there is a great need to understand the dynamics of spread. Currently the seroprevalence of asymptomatic COVID-19 doubles every 3 months, this silent epidemic of new infections may be the main driving force behind the rapid increase in SARS-CoV-2 cases. Public health official quickly recognized that clinical cases were just the tip of the iceberg. In fact a great deal of the spread was being driven by the asymptomatically infected who continued to go out, socialize and go to work. While seropositivity is an insensitive marker for acute infection it does tell us about the prevalence COVID-19 in the population. Objective: Describe the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States over time. Methodology: Repeated convenience samples from a commercial laboratory dedicated to the assessment of life insurance applicants were tested for the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, in several time periods between May and December of 2020. US census data were used to estimate the population prevalence of seropositivity. Results: The raw seroprevalence in the May-June, September, and December timeframes were 3.0%, 6.6% and 10.4%, respectively. Higher rates were noted in younger vs. older age groups. Total seroprevalence in the US is estimated at 25.7 million cases. Conclusion: The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 demonstrates a significantly larger pool of individuals who have contract COVID-19 and recovered, implying a lower case rate of hospitalizations and deaths than have been reported so far.
Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Epidemics; Epidemiology
