A surge of COVID-19 cases amid the omicron wave pushed the number of Americans with COVID-19 antibodies from infection to over 57%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday.
From December 2021 to February 2022, the percentage of Americans with COVID-19 antibodies increased from 33.5% to 57.7%. During that time, reported cases of COVID-19 peaked at nearly 800,000 per day across the U.S., according to CDC data.
The percentage of children with COVID-19 antibodies is significantly higher than the rest of the population. The percentage of children up to age 11 with antibodies increased from 44.2% in December 2021 to 74.2% in February. Likewise, the percentage of those ages 12-17 with antibodies jumped from 45.6% to 74.2% during the winter surge.
The CDC’s data noted that only about one in four of those over the age of 65 had COVID-19 antibodies by February 2022.
The data also noted that older adults were much more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than children. The data stated that 28% of those ages 5-11 and 59% of those ages 12–17 were vaccinated against COVID-19, as of April 2022. Nearly 90% of adults over the age of 65 are vaccinated, the CDC said.
The CDC said last week that COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the United States in 2021. Only heart disease and cancer resulted in more deaths than COVID-19 in 2021.