By Nidhi Saha, BDSSep 8 2022Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc. A new survey by City University of New York School of Public Health researchers and posted to the medRxiv* preprint server suggests the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 among adults in the U.S. during the BA.5 surge was much higher than the official CDC case counts would suggest, with substantial disparities associated with social determinants of health.
These mutants and the waxing and waning course of the pandemic have warranted continuous monitoring of COVID-19 and studies on the short and long-term consequences. Long COVID manifests at least four weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection; it affects millions of Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in five American adults suffer from long COVID symptoms. The current predominant circulating subvariant in the U.S. is Omicron BA.5.
The survey included 3,042 randomly-selected U.S. adult residents contacted through landlines and mobile phones between June 30 and July 2, 2022. The survey questionnaire enquired about the results of SARS-CoV-2 tests; vis, at-home rapid diagnostic tests, viral PCR, or rapid antigen carried out during the Omicron BA.5 surge in the region – that is, 14 days before the survey.
Individuals with hybrid immunity had a higher propensity to re-acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection than those with infection-induced immunity. Other groups with – only vaccine-induced protection and SARS-CoV-2 naïve individuals showed a lower prevalence of the infection. Thus, past infection was an important marker of re-infection risk, rather than the vaccination status, during surges. Meanwhile, unvaccinated individuals had a higher prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection than those over 65 years.