NEW ORLEANS — The COVID-19 public health emergency officially ended in early May, and there are some new, very interesting numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control about the disease.
The CDC conducted a nationwide study of antibodies in Americans older than 16.
They report an estimated 96.7% of Americans have some type of antibodies against COVID-19. That’s either from getting vaccinated or having the virus.
That study showed 77.5% have at least some immunity from having the virus. That means by the end of December 2022, about a quarter of the country still had not caught COVID.
The CDC says it’s difficult to measure these numbers, in part because many people take at-home tests and their cases are never reported to the state. And of course, having COVID once does not mean you can’t get it again.
Looking at the CDC’s COVID vaccination dashboard, almost 70% (69.5) of Americans are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. A little over 80% (81.4) of Americans have had at least one dose.
Louisiana’s numbers are a little different. Only 53% of Louisiana residents are fully vaccinated, while 59% have at least one shot.
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama also have the lowest booster rates in the country.
There is some perspective on how far we’ve come. In early July 2020, New Orleans was shutting down large gatherings, the percentage of positive tests in New Orleans was rising, and Louisiana saw a spike in cases and deaths in the weeks following Independence Day.
Cases spiked again in the weeks following the Fourth of July in 2021 and again in 2022.
Now, cases continue to decline as almost every American has the antibodies to fight back, treatments have improved, and recent mutations of COVID-19 have led to less severe disease.
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