A large ongoing study in Texas has found that between 14 percent and 34 percent of all Texans have COVID-19 antibodies, including about 30 percent of children age 5 to 19, KERA News in Dallas reported Monday. The surprise preliminary findings suggest children could play an important role in helping Texas and the U.S. achieve herd immunity.
The Texas CARES study, a collaboration between University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas and the Texas Department of State Health Services, collects and tests thousands of blood samples and patient surveys, looking for the prevalence of COVID-19 in the state. It runs through July.
"Children actually have a higher seroprevalence than adults do," Sarah Messiah, a professor of epidemiology at UT Health and a collaborator on the study, tells KERA News. Half of the children with antibodies experienced no symptoms, she added. "Children have not been a part of this conversation," but "think about the households that have children in them." Herd immunity is when enough people are infected or vaccinated to stop the virus from spreading in a community. Experts estimate up to 80 percent of people must have immunity to reach that point.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump reignites Jan. 6 furor by awarding military honors to killed rioterIN THE SPOTLIGHT With military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the president makes good on campaign promises designed to animate his political base while relitigating history
-
'Is it OK to be happy when the world is falling apart?'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will online age checks doom internet freedom?Today's Big Question Or do they protect children from harm?
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
