According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 25% of the U.S. population remained unexposed to COVID-19 by the end of 2022, even after nearly three years of the pandemic.
In the CDC’s final survey between October and December 2022, it was estimated that 77.5% of people had antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus due to infection.
The CDC conducted seroprevalence studies, examining the presence of antibodies in people’s blood, beginning in January 2022. These studies were conducted every three months throughout the year.
When considering demographics, individuals aged 16 to 29 had the highest percentage (87.1%) of natural antibodies, while older age groups had lower percentages.
Regarding racial groups, Hispanic individuals had the highest rate of naturally induced antibodies (80.6%). Black, white, and other racial/ethnic groups had similar rates of natural antibodies around 77%. However, non-Hispanic Asians had significantly lower rates of infection-induced antibodies (66.1%). Previous data had shown that Asians in the U.S. had generally lower infection rates, though the CDC did not provide a specific explanation.
An analysis by KFF released last year revealed that Asians had the lowest cumulative infection rate among racial/ethnic groups from 2020 to 2022.
While approximately 75% of people had antibodies from natural infections, nearly all individuals (96.7%) had some form of COVID-19 antibodies in their systems, either from vaccination, previous infection, or a combination of both.
The CDC collected the data for this study by analyzing blood samples from approximately 143,000 donors over a three-month period.
In the first quarter of 2022, around 50% of the U.S. population had infection-induced antibodies. The CDC currently has no plans for further seroprevalence studies.
While vaccines also stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies, antibody testing can differentiate between the types of antibodies. The CDC has stated that antibody testing can be useful for clinical and public health purposes.
As noted in a 2021 study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University , naturally infected individuals produce antibodies targeting several parts of a virus. On the other hand, mRNA vaccines utilized for COVID-19 protection only induce antibodies that recognize the spike proteins on the virus’s surface.
Antibodies, whether from infection or immunization, are believed to last several months, although there is some data suggesting that natural immunity may wane faster than vaccine-induced immunity.
Health officials plan to boost nationwide immunity against COVID-19 in the fall, focusing on the XBB 1.5 omicron subvariant. Moderna has already sought authorization for its updated COVID-19 vaccine.
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