Most People Infected With the Omicron COVID-19 Variant Don’t Know It, Study Suggests
More than half of people infected with the omicron variant had no idea they had contracted the virus, according to a new study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The research, published August 17 in JAMA Network Open, highlights a major hurdle in the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.These findings add to a growing body of evidence that undiagnosed infections are increasing virus transmission. “A low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of omicron,” said Sandy Y. Joung, an investigator at Cedars-Sinai and the first author of the study, in a news release.Antibody Tests Found Evidence of Omicron InfectionThe study included more than 2,000 Cedars-Sinai healthcare workers and patients. All took two or more blood tests to look for evidence of COVID-fighting antibodies. The first…