NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 17: Medical workers at NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center change shifts during the coronavirus pandemic on April 17, 2020 in New York City. COVID-19 has spread to most countries around the world, claiming almost 150,000 lives with over 2 million infections reported. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)Study: Coronavirus More Widespread than Previously Thought A new study reveals more U.S. residents have been infected by the coronavirus than previously thought -- and many of the survivors may be carrying antibodies that could ward off the virus.
The results of the Stanford study, which were released Friday, suggest between 48,000 and 81,000 residents of Santa Clara County, California had been infected by April 3rd -- well more than the 1,000 cases that were being reported at the time.
The reason for the discrepancy, the study theorizes, is most of those people never realized they'd been infected because their systems' antibodies successfully fought off the virus, says lead researcher Dr. Eran Bendavid.
Furthermore, in testing 3,300 Santa Clara County volunteers, researchers found up to 4.2 percent of them possessed COVID-19 antibodies.
Researchers hope the findings can lead scientists to isolate the antibodies in their quest to defeat the coronavirus, Bendavid says.
Does this mean the experimental procedure that involves transferring blood from a survivor to an infected patient should work?
Why hasn't the government fast-tracked testing of a coronavirus vaccine?
