20 Million Americans May Have Been Infected With New Coronavirus: CDC
FRIDAY, June 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) — About 20 million Americans may have been infected with the new coronavirus so far, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, which is nearly 10 times higher than the 2.3 million confirmed cases.
But even if 20 million people have been infected, that means only about 6% of 331 million Americans have had coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.
“It’s clear that many individuals in this nation are still susceptible,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told reporters. “Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually are 10 more infections.”
Previously, U.S. health officials said that many as 25% of infected people might not have symptoms.
“There’s an enormous number of people that are still vulnerable,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told the AP.
“It still remains a potentially lethal disease. It’s a roll of the dice for everybody who gets the illness. Also, you’re rolling the dice for other people who you may give the virus to,” Sharfstein warned.
Many cases of coronavirus cases are being missed due to gaps in testing, the AP reported.
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