"About 60% of confirmed cases likely not captured in statistics"
"Urgent need to achieve herd immunity"... Emphasizing speed of vaccination
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] American researchers have announced findings suggesting that the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States may be more than twice the currently reported figures. The researchers emphasized that to prevent further mass infections and deaths, vaccination efforts must be accelerated to achieve herd immunity.
According to The Hill, a U.S. political news outlet, on the 28th (local time), a team led by statistics expert Professor Adrian Raftery of the University of Washington published a paper online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), stating, "The actual number of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. is likely more than twice the count reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)." They estimated that as of March, approximately 19.7% of Americans, at least 65 million people, had been infected with COVID-19.
The CDC's cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. up to that date stood at 34,631,447, which is over 30 million fewer than the study's estimate. The researchers explained, "Only one out of every 2.3 infected individuals is confirmed through testing, while the remaining 1.3 are not counted as confirmed cases," adding, "It is highly likely that about 60% of infections are missing from the confirmed case statistics."
The research team pointed out that "differences in reporting procedures across states cause reliability issues, and because the CDC model is based on cases confirmed through testing, it does not adequately represent the population." They emphasized, "Reliable population estimates are necessary to understand both the spread of the virus and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies."
Given the significant risk of worsening COVID-19 conditions in the U.S., the researchers stressed the need to accelerate vaccination rates to establish herd immunity. They stated, "This shows that active vaccination efforts are necessary to surpass the herd immunity threshold to avoid more deaths," adding, "Since the virus may spread more widely than expected, vaccination and mask-wearing remain crucial."
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