CDC data shows 3/4 of every US kid was infected with COVID-19, expert pleased with antibody amount

Mich. (WNEM) - New findings from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention estimate three out of every four United States children were infected with the Coronavirus.

“It makes me cautiously happy that there’s that much antibody out there, natural or otherwise,” said Flint physician Dr. Bobby Mukkamala.

The data was collected from 200,000 blood samples that researchers checked for virus fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines.

“It’s not really a big surprise, in hindsight, that so many kids tested positive for antibodies, and we just thought they had common colds and things,” Mukkamala said.

Mukkamala said about 40 percent of people are asymptomatic, and even for those that are symptomatic, the younger they are, the milder their symptoms are.

He said natural immunity, while riskier than vaccine-induced immunity, is still good to have.

“It’s a little bit of rolling the dice, but assuming that the kids are fine now, it’s great that there’s all this antibody out there,” Mukkamala said.

He doesn’t want that potential natural immunity to dissuade parents from getting their kids vaccinated.

“It seems to be about that 90-day mark where the potential drop in antibodies happens. So, it is still a good idea to get vaccinated and that’s to boost the immunity,” Mukkamala said.

He said this is to protect those who are more likely to see severe illness from a COVID-19 infection.

“Now we’re starting to get back to that interaction, and that’s where the risk is. Not so much to the kids, but to the people that are exposed to the kids, particularly grandma and grandpa’s generation,” Mukkamala said.

The same report by the CDC also revealed more than half of all Americans have had previous COVID-19 infections.

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