The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a seroprevalence study shows that most Americans have antibodies for COVID-19 infections. The data comes from samples from commercial laboratories throughout the United States.
"It does indicate that we have a lot of immunity in the community either from being infected or from being vaccinated," Kevin Dick, Washoe County Health District Officer said.
The Omicron surge between December and February caused a very large increase in positive cases of COVID-19.
"That three-month period when we had the surge really boosted the number of people that now have those antibodies from infection," Dick said.
Omicron was milder than previous variants, so many people had mild symptoms or did not have them at all.
The study shows 57% of the population has the antibodies from being infected. The number rises to 75% among children age 17 and under. Only 33% of those in the 65-and-older population have the antibodies.
"I think that's an indication of the effectiveness of the vaccines and the boosters," Dick said.
Seniors have the highest vaccination rate and children have the lowest. Still, people can have antibodies from infection even if they are vaccinated.
COVID-19 numbers remain low in Washoe County but they are on the rise. During the last week, new daily cases rose from 16 to 24. Community levels are still low by CDC standards.
"We're still at fairly low levels," Dick said. "We are seeing an increase. We're not seeing any significant impact with our hospitals."
The increase in numbers is what health officials expected. Wastewater samples indicated that there was a higher presence of COVID-19 and that 99% of them were the BA.2 variant.
Wastewater and hospitalizations are key metrics to learn about the spread in our community because more people are taking at-home tests or they are not getting tested at all.
If people do test positive, they are encouraged to follow up with a doctor and seek treatment. PAXLOVID is an antiviral pill that is shown to reduce hospitalization and death by 90%.
"It's now fairly widely available and I don't think it's being utilized to the extent that we'd like people to be taking advantage of those treatments," Dick said.
People are still dying from the disease but at a lower rate. Overall, Washoe County has had 1,200 deaths from COVID-19.
