More than three in four Americans over the age of 16 had contracted COVID-19 by the end of 2022, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New federal data from testing roughly 143,000 blood donors nationwide found that 77.5% of surveyed individuals had seroprevalence, or COVID-19 antibodies, from infection before the start of 2023. This number varies sharply from the number of reported COVID-19 cases, which stood at 30 cases for every 100 people at the end of 2022, per the CDC.
Seroprevalence grew significantly in 2022, with an estimated 48.8% of blood donors having infection-induced antibodies as of Feb. 15, 2022, per the CDC. That number increased to an estimated 58.7% by May and 70.2% by August, before eclipsing 75% by the end of the year.
Antibodies can appear in people who have had prior infection or vaccination, the CDC notes. The study estimates the country reached an overall seroprevalence rate of 96.7% − counting infections and vaccinations − by the end of 2022.
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What demographics had the highest infection-induced seroprevalence?
By the end of 2022, men showed a slightly higher rate of infection than women, with a 3.6% difference in infection-induced seroprevalence.
Millennials and Gen Z had higher rates of antibodies from infections, with rates of 87.1% and 84.4% for age groups 16-29 and 30-49, respectively. The population 65 and over had the lowest rate at just 56.5%.
Among the races and ethnicities identified in the study, the Hispanic population had the highest rate of infection-induced seroprevalence at 80.6%, and the Asian population had the lowest at 66.1%. The non-Hispanic Black and white populations were roughly equal at 77.4% and 77.7%, respectively.
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What regions had the highest seroprevalence?
The Midwest region had the highest estimated infections. Iowa with a 90.6% infection-induced seroprevalence, had the highest rate of the 47 states and the District of Columbia included in the study.
The Northeast region had the lowest rate, with Vermont as the state with the fewest estimated infections.
