Coronavirus Antibody Research Shows Actual Number of Infected People Should Be Higher

The big question is how many people can provide blood with antibodies and immunity to repel the COVID-19 as it can ravage host cells and turn it inside out unlike any other pathogen we've encountered.

Two research teams in California with many volunteers are attempting to answer the questions.

Large scale testing revealed more than expected

Large scale testing was done on 3,300 people in Santa Clara county. Results were that 2.5 to 4.2% of the subjects of those tested had a positive result for the needed antibodies. Based on this outcome, more were infected than assumed by the official count.

Based on the initial data, the estimated number of people who had the virus range between 48,000 and 81,000 in the county of 2 million instead of approximately 1,000 in the county's official tally, which is the current number at the time the samples were recorded.

More findings

According to Dr. Eran Bendavid, the associate professor of medicine at Stanford University who chaired the study, told ABC News Diane Sawyer, "Our findings suggest that there is somewhere between 50- and 80-fold more infections in our county than what's known by the number of cases that are reported by our department of public health."

Also read: COVID-19 Treatment: Achieving Immune Memory is Better Than Any Man-Made Anti-Viral

Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor, he cautioned that California does not represent the U.S. populace. Also, the use of online ads to reach participants will affect the candidate pool. He added the study helped to reveal some facts.

He also noted that it is possible that they are undercounting infections due to the lack of testing or patients are asymptomatic.

From his inputs, it seems the asymptomatic carriers were a big factor than was not included in some instances due to no testing.

Most say that antibody testing is a tool to use when determining when Americans can resume their normal lives, whether anyone has survived the coronavirus or was exposed to it. Developing antibodies is one sure sign to look out for.

Immunity forever?

There is no indication that once exposed to the COVID-19, there will be long-term antibodies or a sort of immune memory is developed by the cells. But long-term immune protection is not a guarantee, even if the host has been exposed to the coronavirus. A tool is needed to determine when a survivor can enter the workforce without infecting anyone.

Bendavid stressed that the study has yet to be peer reviewed, and it might be about 95% are without antibodies. How to get people without antibodies to have them? The 90% without antibody protection will be serious and a difficult choice of what to do.

Bendavid added that the testing was done at the community level and showed how the pandemic spread, but it might not be applicable to a national level. It pointed out who's been infected and who is not without testing.