Scientists from prestigious American institutions determined the COVID virus was in US before we knew. And they proved it in such a simple way, it’s hard to comprehend why no one else tried this before. According an NPR report, there’s evidence we had SARS-CoV-2 infections in the U.S. in December 2019. Although they are conservatively careful to say ‘may’.
Why the COVID Virus Was Probably In US Before We Knew
Centers for Disease Control sampled 7,389 routine American Red Cross blood donations dated December 13 to December 16, 2019. These were from residents from nine US states, and so they should be reasonably representative. When they tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies they found these in 39 samples from California, Oregon, and Washington.
They also confirmed the COVID virus was in US before we knew it, by taking samples from early January 2020. There were antibodies in 67 samples from Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin predating widespread outbreaks.
What The Presence of These Antibodies Tells Us
The presence of the antibodies in the subject donors’ blood tells us they had previous exposure to the virus. And their bodies triggered an immune response which protected them.
However, we don’t know whether these particular people actually contracted the disease, or whether they were asymptomatic. What we do know though, is the virus was silently among us and establishing its presence.
The first previously-known COVID-19 cases in the United States surfaced on January 19, 2020. There has been a general assumption the virus arrived from Asia via Europe. Much work still needs to be done on the origin, with less finger pointing. The report authors hope their findings will help broaden health officials’ understanding of the pandemic.
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Preview Image: Combined Confirmatory Tests
